We are joining Creative Australia’s AusArt Day for the very first time. AusArt Day is a national day that supports Australian artists and organisations to raise funds for the work we’re passionate about.

Thanks to our generous Hatched Academy Patrons, we’ve secured a $25,000 matching pool, meaning every donation made through AusArt Day will be matched until we reach our $25,000 fundraising target. That’s $50,000 in total to help the next generation of Australian performers and composers through our next chapter of Hatched Academy.

Donate today to double your impact.

The Future of Hatched Academy

“Since 2014, Hatched Academy has created unique and meaningful opportunities for emerging composers and performers to develop their practice, make connections, receive mentorship from leading composers, and have their work developed and performed by some of Australia’s finest new music specialists. Many Hatched alumni have gone on to become important creative collaborators for Ensemble Offspring, while others have been commissioned by major organisations including Musica Viva and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.”

Jason Noble
Hatched Academy Director

“We’re so excited about the next chapter of Hatched Academy! From 2028, we’re planning to bring 6 emerging composers together with 15 emerging performers together for a new two-week intensive. They will get to work side-by-side with Ensemble Offspring’s core musicians to make, experiment, collaborate and develop new work. And we’re going to finish with a mini festival so everyone can see what they’ve cooked up! It’s a big evolution for Hatched and there’s nothing quite like it in Australia. Be part of the future of Australian music and support this next chapter of Hatched Academy!“

Claire Edwardes OAM
CEO, Artistic Director and Percussionist

Burranbala (meaning ‘catalyst’ in Yuwaalaraay language) is an exciting new music residency led by Artistic Director Nardi Simpson alongside First Nations leaders Sonya Holowell (EO FN Director) and Nicole Smede, which centres on Indigenous perspectives and modes of working. Four NSW based participants (chosen from an EOI process) will join with a diverse team of musicians for a unique experience of sharing and experimentation on beautiful Dharawal/Dhurga country at Bundanon. For our inaugural year we welcome participants Nicholas Astill (Kamilaroi), Rowan Savage/salllvage (Kombumerri), Thalia Skopellos/Ellatronix (Atherton Tableland Yidinji) and Joshua Paton/JWPATON (Yuin).

The Burranbala Residency will invite all present into a period of co-learning/leading, celebrating the unique knowledge systems and practices each of the mentors and participants carry. Through yarns and guided activities we will try new things, learn from each other, and expand concepts of how to communicate, create and notate music.

We ask - what can ‘art music’ mean, when Indigenous ways of knowing and making are leading the way? Rather than a distinct-sounding ‘genre’, could it instead be a site for reclamation, resistance, and resurgence; a home for our stories, told in our ways?

The diverse participants will get to learn from and create alongside our Burranbala team: Nardi Simpson - Yuwaalaraay composer, author, Burranbala Artistic Director; Sonya Holowell - Dharawal vocalist, improviser and writer, Ensemble Offspring First Nations Director; Nicole Smede - Warrimay artist, composer and poet; Alexandra Spence - sound artist, musician; Claire Edwardes - percussionist, Ensemble Offspring Artistic Director; Lamorna Nightingale - flautist; Jason Noble - clarinettist, Hatched Academy Director; Niki Johnson - percussionist, composer, EO Creative Associate and Ronan Apcar - pianist, composer.

There will be two public events as part of Burranbala - the first, a concert on Saturday 5th December and a Yarning Circle on 6th December. Tickets will be available soon via the Bundanon website and we will let you know via the Ensemble Offspring monthly EDM.

Learn more about our 2026 Burranbala participants below!

Meet The 2026 Burranbala Participants

Thalia Skopellos (Ellatronix)

Thalia Skopellos is a producer and composer creating vibrant, cinematic and emotionally driven electronic music. Her work spans artist releases, production music and composition for film and television, with music released under her own name as well as her artist aliases Ellatronix and Lazi Daizi. Her work has received multiple Spotify playlist features and airplay on triple j. Her music has also been featured on Apple TV, Prime Video, Apple Podcasts, Singapore Airlines, and SBS TV – Great Australian Road Trips, as well as other domestic and international unscripted TV shows, including a sync placement in Denmark. As the founder of StoryBeats, Thalia will lead a panel as a part of Goolwal Goolwal at BIGSOUND 2026, exploring independent music publishing, immersive creative practice and new approaches to emotionally driven musical expression.

ellatronix.com.au

Nicholas Astill

Nicholas Astill is a Kamilaroi composer based in Sydney. He grew up in Nowra, on the NSW South Coast, and now composes polystylistic instrumental and electronic music. Drawing on relationships - cultural, social, natural - his music speaks through connection and story, bound less by a fixed sound than by a fascination with transforming material and the relationships moving through it. Alongside his practice he is undertaking a PhD and Postgraduate Teaching Fellowship at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where his research maps how different musical traditions connect. His work has been presented at The Gathering: Indigenous Composers Conference at the Australian National University, and his first orchestral work, Mutations, was premiered by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for its 2026 First Voices Showcase. Outside of music and research, Nicholas is a commissioned visual artist, using collage and algorithmic transformations to create vibrant digital artworks.

www.nicholasastill.com

Joshua Paton (JWPATON)

JWPATON is a Yuin composer living and working on the unceded lands of the Darug Nation. Using electronics, field recordings and various instruments Josh explores the contrast between abstract ambience and harsh textures. Carving and smearing analog and digital material, building sound worlds examining the ouroboroi of nature and technology. Josh has recently presented work at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Brisbane Powerhouse, VIVID Sydney, the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Biennale.

jwpaton.bandcamp.com

Rowan Savage (salllvage)

salllvage (Rowan Savage) is a proud Kombumerri man, living on Wangal Land. He is an experimental producer and sound artist working at the intersection of connection with Country and electronic sound art. His work mutates on-Country field recordings into electronica, and inhabits and bridges the tensions between abstraction and emotion, the wild bush and the dancefloor, the personal and the social, authenticity and reconstruction. Recent highlights of his work include soundtracking the Sydney 9pm Fireworks 2022/23, and producing a new work ('Carrion Sentience') for the National Communication Museum's Signal to Noise exhibition (2025).

salllvage.bandcamp.com

We interviewed Yuin-based Warrimay composer Nicole Smede about being the 2027-28 First Nations Composer in Residence with Ensemble Offspring.

How do you feel about being Ensemble Offspring’s next First Nations Composer in Residence?

I’m genuinely excited about this opportunity. I studied a Bachelor of Vocal Performance, and the running joke was always that singers aren’t “real” musicians. I never dreamed I’d one day be a composer outside my own backyard, so to be a “composer in residence” is a real honour.

I’ve written for EO twice now, so I’m looking forward to continuing the relationship and going deeper with them; pushing myself and learning along the way.

You are a multi-disciplinary artist; a writer, poet, composer and singer. How do these different artistic practices influence your approach to composing?

They’re all entwined - threads on the same creative web, each informing the others.

I often start with poetry. Through listening and observation, my thoughts and “notes”, if you will, come out in the form of poems. From there I can keep building that imagery through visuals or music, whichever one wants to be born. Sometimes it’s multiple iterations from the same initial thought or poem.

So much of this begins with Country. I listen to Country, to what I feel and observe, and it finds a way through me and out into creative expression. Most, if not all, of my compositions are her voice as much as mine.

For me it’s about the connections and the layers - the conceptual layers finding their best expression and building layers of meaning within the discipline. In music, that might be layers of rhythm, melody or instruments; in poetry - the layers of language; visual art - layers of paint and natural materials on a canvas…

You will be a panellist for The Lucky Country during NAIDOC Week - tell us a bit about your journey so far as a First Nations artist living on country and working in Australia?

I feel grateful to be an artist, and deeply grateful to have a career as a First Nations artist. These opportunities are not lost on me.

It’s an exciting time: more people are opening up to the richness of First Nations voices and culture, and to the truth-telling of this Country. We have a lot more work to do but I do feel that as a society we are moving away from Western ideals of who and how to be, and slowly turning back toward a way of being that’s more in tune with ourselves and with Country, as a collective.

Like many families, mine has generations who never identified and or who hid their identity for shame, safety… they were punished for speaking language, for practicing culture, for their skin colour, and turned away. So I’m proud that opportunities like this are becoming more available and normalised. I hope that continues, and that more mob know that these spaces are for them too.

What is your experience of working with Ensemble Offspring thus far and what have you enjoyed about your collaborations?

I’ve really enjoyed working with EO over the years. I’ve had the privilege of knowing and working with many of EO’s instrumentalists for the last 15 years as both an arts producer, vocalist and composer. The quality of musicianship is outstanding. It has been a joy, and a challenge, with learning curves to match their level of excellence as I navigate this space of ‘emerging composer’.

What are you looking forward to most as Ensemble Offspring’s First Nations Composer in Residence and do you have an idea of the piece/s you will write?

I look forward to more learning curves and joyful challenges as I have no idea what I will write yet - it will be a surprise for us all - but one I welcome and I know Country will have something for me - something to say through those many threads!

Every year since 2014, one outstanding Australian instrumentalist who demonstrates a passion for new music has been selected as Ensemble Offspring’s Hatched Emerging Performer. Before you apply for the 2027 Hatched Emerging Performer program, check out what our past performers have been up to!

2014: Jeremy Rose 

Jeremy runs Earshift Music, the record label he founded in 2009, and is a mover and shaker around Sydney as a jazz saxophone player and academic at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. His bands The Vampires, Visions of Nar and the Jeremy Rose Quartet regularly tour Australia and the world.
https://www.jeremyrose.com.au/

2014: Callum G’Froerer

Originally from Perth, Callum has been part of the Melbourne experimental music scene for many years. He recently purchased a double bell trumpet (the only one in Australia) and has commissioned a lot of Australian music for it as well as performing as part of leading experimental music festivals in Melbourne.

2015: Jacob Abela

In demand as a pianist and an ondes Martenot player (the instrument that Messiaen uses extensively in pieces such as Turangalila), Jacob is a member of Melbourne’s new music group, Rubik’s Collective. He recently joined Ensemble Offspring and Sydney Chamber Orchestra for the opera Gilgamesh and performs regularly with the MSO.
https://linktr.ee/jacobabela

2015: Jodie Rottle

Dr Jodie Rottle is a creative flutist, researcher, lecturer, composer, and improviser who explores the curious and surprising sounds of everyday objects. Her work within music often extends into performance art, puppetry, circus, installation art, and interdisciplinary realms. She is a member of the two-time Queensland Music Award-winning Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra.
https://www.jodierottle.com/

2016: David Moran

David Moran is a cellist and artistic researcher specialising in contemporary performance practice. He has appeared in performances across Australia and internationally in solo, chamber, orchestral, and multidisciplinary contexts. David is an ensemble member of Moirai and Wattleseed Ensemble and a casual cellist with the Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.
https://www.davidmoran.com.au/

2016: Jules Reidy

Guitarist Jules Reidy is currently based in Berlin and works across song cycles and electro-acoustic composition for solo performance, ensembles and spaces. Their music explores devotional love, transcendence, and ego death, invoking states of uncanniness, dissociation, imagination, and void. They have recently written for Zinc&Copper, JACK Quartet and the Australian Art Orchestra. 
https://julesreidy.com/

2016: Mary Rapp

Dr Mary Rapp plays the cello, bass and sings, exploring jazz, classical, experimental and Korean traditional music. In 2022, she spent 6 months in Seoul studying traditional Korean singing, and in 2023 she completed her Doctor of Philosophy at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
https://maryrapp.com.au/

2017: Luke Carbon

Luke Carbon is a woodwind multi-instrumentalist and educator based in Melbourne. He studied at the Queensland Conservatorium and the Australian National Academy of Music and regularly appears as a guest musician on both clarinets and saxophones with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria, Victorian Opera and conducts wind bands on the side.
https://www.lukecarbon.com.au/

2017: Kieran Welch

Kieran Welch is an Australian curator, production manager, violist, DJ, writer and educator based in Melbourne. Kieran is the founder and co-director of the post-genre concert series Dots+Loops. His ongoing commitment to culture and community has already been recognised at a national level, as the recipient of the 2022 APRA AMCOS Queensland Luminary Award for "sustained contribution to the creative music culture of Brisbane as a performer and artistic director". 
https://www.kieranwelch.com/

2018: Georgina Oakes

Georgina performs internationally as a soloist, as well as a chamber musician and in orchestras, having appeared in New York, Siena, England, Sweden and Japan. Now a Mum of three, she has performed with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam), Ensemble InterContemporain (Paris), and The Diaghilev Festival Orchestra (Russia). 
https://georginaoakesdotcom.wordpress.com/

2019: Henry Justo

Winner of the 2023 Freedman Classical Fellowship, Henry is a violist from Brisbane, Queensland who is now based in Edinburgh. In Australia he has performed with Sydney Chamber Opera, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Apex, most of the major Australian symphony orchestras, and more recently across the UK with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC and Royal National and Scottish Symphony Orchestras.

2020-2021: Will Hansen

Will is an Australian double bassist currently based in Essen, Germany where he is doing postgraduate studies. He is as comfortable as a soloist as he is with orchestras and performs regularly with Theater Osnabrück and has previously performed with SPIRAL, Ensemble Onsombl, Ensemble Apex and the Australian String Quartet.

2022: Eliza Shephard

Winner of the 2022 ABC Young Performers Award, Eliza Shephard is highly sought after internationally in solo, chamber, and orchestral situations. Her multi-year project ‘March of the Women’ celebrates female composers, and her course ‘The Extended Flute’ details experimental flute techniques and has been presented Australia-wide. A recipient of the Ian Potter Emerging Performers Fellowship, Eliza commissions, records, and produces exciting and vibrant musical adventures, championing her instrument as a storytelling machine!
https://elizashephard.com/

2023: Abbey Felton

Abbey is currently based in Glasgow, where she has just finished her Master's of Music Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Her practice is people centred: collaborating with composers and performers to create new music, working alongside other instruments in chamber settings, writing music for and performing alongside dancers, and programming works by living composers. She is looking forward to attending the 2026 Bang on a Can Summer Course as a performance fellow, and returning to Western Australia in late 2027 to establish a contemporary music ensemble.
https://www.abbeyfelton.com/

2024: Alice Morgan

Alice is a Sydney/Eora-based musician, educator and producer who frequently appears with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as Guest Principal Saxophone. She is currently taking part in the 2026 Young Performers Awards and in 2027 she will tour with pianist and Hatched Alumni Ronan Apcar as a Musica Viva Featured Artist. Alice is also an experienced producer and orchestral manager as one of the founding members of Ensemble Apex.
https://www.alicemorgan.com.au/

2025: Ronan Apcar

Ronan Apcar is a pianist, musician, and composer with a reputation for versatility, edge, and tenacity. His love for music across many styles - jazz to the avant-garde, contemporary art music to house music – translates into his open-minded, exciting, and unique work as a musician. He is an ANAM graduate and from the start of our 2026 season, Ronan was invited to join Ensemble Offspring as a core musician. He is currently in Europe taking part in the Andriessen Academy and more.
https://www.ronanapcar.com/

2026: Arkie Moore

In 2025, Arkie was Associate Principal Trumpet on the recent Australian Youth Orchestra International Tour to Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, performing under David Robertson (NYC) in venues including the Concertgebouw (AMS) and Musikverein (WIE). She has performed with renowned groups such as the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia, Victorian Opera and Sydney Lyric Orchestra to name a few, and is a core member of the Jazz Composers Co-op big band. She has also been a part of the Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra four times and is our 2026 Hatched Emerging Performer - Arkie is joining us for lots of concerts in 2026 so don’t miss her!

This could be you! Apply now for the 2027 Hatched Emerging Performer program. Expressions of interest are due by Sunday July 12, 11:59pm. Please note we are only accepting strings and woodwinds (including saxophone) for 2027.

We are thrilled to welcome Niki Johnson to the EO family as our Creative Associate!

Niki Johnson is a percussionist and composer-performer whose practice blends contemporary classical repertoire, improvisation, performance art, and interdisciplinary collaboration. She has been commissioned to compose and perform solo percussion works for the Sydney Powerhouse Museum and Art Gallery of New South Wales, and as a freelancing percussionist she has regularly recorded and performed for the ABC, Sydney Opera House, Phoenix Central Park, and Trackdown Fox studios. A PhD Candidate at Monash University, her research focuses on co-creating and composing for new instruments made from glass, mycelium, ceramics, and found objects in collaboration with sound designers and sculptors. Her primary project, Shock Lines, with glass artist Caitlin Dubler and sound designer Natasha Dubler, explores the resonance and materiality of glass through immersive performance and installation. Niki also collaborates with clarinettist Solomon Frank in Throat Pleats, an experimental duo exploring balloons, hoses, and vacuums, and works with HOSSEI to create sound for playful gallery installations and performance art works. A Speak Percussion Bespoke Artist (2019–2022), she was invited to become an Associate with Ensemble Offspring in 2024.

When asked about her previous work with Ensemble Offspring, Niki said, "It’s amazing working with Ensemble Offspring as I get to play challenging new repertoire in a variety of styles and contexts, and I am always so grateful for the passionate audience members who support new commissions and emerging artists like myself."

As our Creative Associate, Niki will be working with us to help shape the future of Ensemble Offspring and our upcoming programs.

The week before last in the Netherlands was a real whirlwind for Claire. Fresh from Classical:NEXT in Budapest, she arrived in Amsterdam and moved straight into rehearsals with Het Muziek and conductor Clark Rundell for the world premiere of Storm Oratory, the new percussion concerto by Kate Moore (which will also be performed with Clark in Sydney as part of The Oracle in June).

The rehearsal period proved both smooth and deeply rewarding, made all the more special with the composer present throughout. The work premiered on the opening night of the Minimal Music Festival at Muziekgebouw to a packed house and a standing ovation. Earlier that day, a public dress rehearsal had already drawn an audience of 400 - clear evidence of the Netherlands’ remarkable appetite for new music. This review excerpt says it all:

"In the following cadenza, the soloist took full advantage of the opportunity to showcase her nimble virtuosity. But truly breathtaking was her stick control on a drum set with cymbals and various tom-toms. Her highly differentiated sound production was nothing short of divine! Edwardes is truly a fantastic percussionist. Moore's new piece is clearly a tribute to Edwardes's qualities...The performance was phenomenal.” — Michel Klier, The New Muse

You can read the review here and listen to the recording here.

Building on the momentum of the premiere, Claire went on to present her solo album show, Dual Attractor, at Splendor — an artist-run venue tucked away near Waterlooplein and the Red Light District of Amsterdam. The concert played to a full room, with an overwhelmingly warm reception. Kate Moore was in attendance for her vibraphone solo Joyful Melodies, alongside commissioner Leta Keens sitting alongside Kate, who had travelled especially from Sydney.

The following morning brought a trip to Eindhoven for a meditation concert with TROMP Percussion, marking a third sold-out performance in just one week. This intimate solo program, preceded by a guided meditation, centred on female composers - particularly from Australia - with works by Anne Cawrse, Kate Moore and Caroline Shaw.

By Monday, Claire arrived back in London — Eurostar delays notwithstanding — exhausted but exhilarated, closing out the Dutch chapter with a long-overdue reunion with Lamorna and Jason in a local pub. A week of rehearsals with Ensemble Offspring x Ruthless Jabiru ensued - it was fun to meet so many young Aussies who are all based in London and finally get to work closely with conductor Kelly Lovelady on some chunky repertoire which was mostly Australian but not exclusively.

LONDON

Last Friday's collaborative concert with Ruthless Jabiru at Peckham Levels turned out to be a vibrant and warmly received gathering of both old and new friends. The venue itself — a converted carpark — offered an unconventional but surprisingly effective performance space, complete with low ceilings, concrete floors, a bar to one side, and an unexpectedly good natural acoustic. It certainly sparked ideas for similar spaces back home!

The program opened with Brenda Gifford’s (now classic) Bardju, this time featuring Zubin Kanga on piano alongside an expanded cello and bass section thanks to Ruthless Jabiru. The result was a rich and funky sound that had the ensemble feeling more like a band than a chamber group.

The concert unfolded as a shared program, with EO performances of Nardi Simpson’s Of Stars and Birds, Robert Davidson’s Bird Riffs, and Gerry Brophy’s Hummingbirds, before both groups joined forces for Thierry Pécou’s Rorqual. Among the standout moments were Ruthless Jabiru’s powerful performance of Holly Harrison’s Black Ice, as well as the heartfelt responses from expatriate audience members - particularly to Raven Riff, which evoked a strong sense of nostalgia.

It was also a pleasure to spot many Australian and UK composer friends in the audience, including Matthew Shlomowitz, Luke Styles, Drew Crawford, Laurence Osborne, Florence Maunders, Christopher Fox and Tim Parkinson.

Having a bar within the performance space added to the atmosphere, allowing the evening to flow seamlessly into celebrations with friends and collaborators. Special thanks to Kelly Lovelady, the driving force behind Ruthless Jabiru, whose efforts made the collaboration both possible, deeply rewarding and a true buzzing success!

SCOTLAND

Without a day to spare Claire, Jason and Lamorna hopped on a plane to Edinburgh from London City Airport ready for their Saturday night performance in the beautiful city of Edinburgh. With blue skies abounding they raced to their afternoon rehearsal now joined by Glaswegian, London based cellist Louise McMonagle for the world premiere of Matthew Whiteside’s 30 minute work about scuba diving entitled Beneath the Surface.

Matthew is the Artistic Director of The Night With… the organisation who hosted our Scottish escapades — he is responsible for driving us between our various performance spots, packing the van, organising the sound, operating the video in his work and being a composer so it’s a big job all round! The rest of the program is made up of works from our much loved Songbirds project including three other world premieres by Alice Chance, Felicity Wilcox and Seyoung Oh (these are all being recorded at the end of the tour as well) and for the first time we have accompanied them with images of the birds which inspired the works (for those who are not so familiar with Australian birds) and it has been really effective!

The concerts in Edinburgh, Cromarty, Aberdeen and Glasgow were all in vastly different venues — an art gallery, a community hall, a lecture theatre and a bar — and it has been a true pleasure and a privilege to connect with new audiences, share Australian music and perform 4 world premieres, 4 times on consecutive nights as part of Matthew’s successful series.

Some non musical highlights have been the stunning Scottish highlands scenery on the road (each day we had a trip of about 4 hours to our next venue), catching up with Henry Justo (ex-Hatched Emerging Artist and viola player) and Felicity Wilcox (all the way from Paris) in Edinburgh, the pub dinner in Cromarty (think cosy, hearty, quirky and olde worlde), and having Jane Stanley (Avant Gardens Autumn and Spring composer) and Abbie Felton (ex Hatched Emerging Artist and guitarist) in the audience at our final rocking Glasgow show.

And then finally day 6 of our non-stop music making run saw us in the recording studio getting all the new works recorded for eventual release — so stay posted for that as there is loads of new and exciting birdsong inspired chamber music which you are all yet to hear which we hope will inspire and delight!

Next stop for Claire is Rome to hang with her daughter Poppy; for Lamorna to Berlin to chill with her sister Chloe and for Jason back to London to party with his multitude of friends there. 

THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts to our dear friends and supporters for all that you do to keep Ensemble Offspring viable and helping to get us overseas to share this amazing Australian music with Europe and the UK - it really does mean the world to us!

X Claire, Jason and Lamorna

These talented emerging composers will embark on a creative journey of mentorship and artistic development throughout 2026, under the guidance of Artistic Director Claire Edwardes and Hatched Academy Director Jason Noble alongside lead mentor Jack Symonds and an impressive list of international mentors including Lisa Illean, David T. Little, and Hatched Academy Patron, Brett Dean.

Their new creations will premiere at Future Classics on 21 November at the Utzon Room (don’t miss the show!). This concert features Ensemble Offspring performers Lamorna Nightingale (flutes), Jason Noble (clarinet/bass clarinet), Ronan Apcar (piano), Arkie Moore (2026 Hatched Emerging Performer/piano), and Claire Edwardes and Niki Johnson (Associate) on percussion.

Future Classics celebrates the innovation and boldness of the next generation of Australia’s most exciting composers. Complementing their works will be our 2026 Hatched Emerging Performer Commission: a new work by Californian jazz saxophonist and Grammy Award–winning composer Remy Le Boeuf, written for Arkie Moore, our 2026 Hatched Emerging Performer alongside Claire and Jason and generously supported by the Silo Collective.

We extend our thanks to our amazing community of trailblazing donors, whose generosity is the lifeblood of EO’s Hatched Academy. Now in its 13th year, Hatched Academy is an all-expenses-paid opportunity for all participants, hosting an impressive list of alumni. If you are interested in nurturing the next generation of artistic movers and shakers in Australia, we invite you to join our community of Hatched patrons – please get in touch with Isabella to find out how.

We are also proud to announce the seven participants selected for our 2026 Hatched Mentorship Program, our more casual coaching stream where participants are paired with a mentor for career advice and artistic guidance - Ziv Pinco (Sydney), Isaac Reed (Brisbane), Arthur Hayes (Brisbane), Duo Aki (Eden Annesley and Lola Schuele) (Melbourne), Kara Morton (Melbourne), Mali Laignel (Sydney), and Andrea Lim (Sydney).

We invite you to join us for Future Classics on November 21 at the Sydney Opera House for an afternoon of daring sonic ideas and a glimpse at the future of Australian music!

Meet The 2026 Hatched Composer Intensive Participants

Hao Zhen
Gold Coast, QLD

Hao Zhen is a composer, filmmaker, and pianist. She graduated from Vanderbilt University with double majors in Film Studies and Composition. She later joined the renowned Words, Text, Voices, Music program at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where she studied with Dr. Liza Lim and Dr. Damien Ricketson. Her work was featured in Limelight magazine’s October 2024 issue in the article “Fostering Opera’s Future.” Her chamber opera The Lullaby, created in collaboration with the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and director Lindy Hume, premiered in October 2024 at the Parade Theatre in Sydney. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Composition at the University of Chicago.

Jude Donahue
Sydney, NSW

Jude Donahue is an emerging composer whose work is defined by character, immediacy, and a vivid imaginative voice. Growing up immersed in creating symbolic worlds, Donahue developed an early passion for translating inner and outer experiences into music, excelling in formative studies and pursuing composition with focus. At the Sydney Conservatorium High School, Donahue’s craft flourished under the guidance of Jack Symonds, drawing strong influence from early 20th-century classical music. Their work has been recognised with several awards, including the Future Innovators Award and the James Easton Award for Gifted Composer. A dedicated collaborator, Donahue has worked with a wide range of ensembles and continues to build community through creative partnerships and new projects.

Audrey Rouge Ormella
Sydney, NSW

Audrey Ormella is an emerging composer based in Sydney, Australia. Her practice is inspired by the mangroves and birds of her local river, personal emotional narratives, and conceptual thinking. Audrey is interested in the way performer physicality and movement can be utilised to add meaning and depth to musical stories. A 2024 highlight was the inclusion of her short piece in the Goldner String Quartet’s “Goldner Variations” as part of their final performance season. Audrey enjoys working with unique colour combinations, having previously written for pipa and violin duo, as well as baryton and two solo sopranos. In 2024 an ‘operatic song cycle’ Time Has Legs, created with Hunter Bailey Watts and Grace Pfab, saw her experiment with live electroacoustic elements into performance. Audrey acknowledges the Wangal and Gadigal people, whose cultures, histories and voices are embedded in the lands she lives and works on.

Moses Mohammed Kington-Walberg
Melbourne, VIC

Moses Mohammed Kington-Walberg is a sound-focused artist from Boorloo/Western Australia whose practice spans experimental approaches to notated and graphic composition, free improvisation, sound art, and interdisciplinary collaboration. His work is driven by an interest in how different modes of making can intersect, and in cultivating music-making processes that are genuine, collaborative, and grounded in the people and places around him. Kington-Walberg’s compositions often take the form of playful, texturally driven works that employ hybrid notation, balancing structured instruction with performer improvisation. Australian art is central to his practice, with recent work shaped by studies in First Nations cultures and creative projects undertaken with mentors in Indigenous music.

Tuesday 3 March, 2026

The Silo Collective is not a group - it's an idea - and one that freelance writer Leta Keens first had over 16 years ago. What began as a simple concept to commission new music in a way that was personal, accessible, and community driven, has grown into a quietly influential force in Australia’s new music landscape.

We spoke with Leta about her experience commissioning music with the Silo Collective, why she continues to be inspired by Ensemble Offspring’s adventurous programming, and what it feels like to witness music being made from the very first note.

What draws you to living new music and what do you especially love about EO?

I’ve always been really interested in all sorts of music, and still go to the type of gigs I went to when I was in my twenties… alternative bands and artists at places like Enmore Theatre and Factory Theatre, folk gigs in seedy pubs, David Byrne at ICC (I can’t call it the TikTok Entertainment Centre - that’s too weird). Thinking about it, that’s what draws me to living new music - it can be as interesting, unexpected and wonderful as the type of music that has been with me all my adult life. There are so many reasons I love EO, including the fact that their programming is so thoughtful and adventurous, and I’ll hear things I’ve never heard before and can’t hear anywhere else. Plus, of course, they’re all brilliant musicians (and lovely people!). I’m so thankful for all the music EO has introduced me to - I’m pretty sure the first EO concert I went to was a Morton Feldman one in 2007 - it was such a revelation, and I was an instant fan of EO.

What is the Silo Collective and what prompted its creation 16 years ago?

I usually describe Silo Collective as an idea, not a group. It’s a way of commissioning music that makes sense to me and, apparently, there’s nothing else quite like it in the world. I’m a freelance writer, and have never had a steady (or decent!) income - in Julian Burnside’s Peggy Glanville Hicks address in 2004 he talked about the fact that when historians look back, if no one has commissioned music, there’ll be a gap in our culture . For some reason, that resonated with me. He also said if you can’t afford to commission yourself, do it with other people. I thought about it for a few years, and did a fair bit of research, and came up with a concept that suits my personality and ethos. The main things are I’m very non-hierarchical and don’t like committees and meetings. Basically, Silo commissions about one piece a year - I go to the artistic director of a musical body like EO, and say I can raise $x for a commission if they’re interested. It’s up to the artistic director to come back to me with a composer and the form of music they would like. (Organisations come to me with proposals as well.) I’ll only say no if I think it would be too hard to convince people to cough up money for it (one organisation wanted me to commission arrangements of pop songs - I think that would have been impossible to sell).

How much does it cost to join a commission?

Donors to Silo commissions are only allowed to give $500 each - no more, no less - and I don’t touch the money - people go straight to the musical organisation themselves, and that way get the tax deductibility for their donation.

I came up with the $500 as that would be the amount I’d give a year to a favourite charity without expecting anything in return. With Silo, I ask if we can come to an open rehearsal of the commission (we bring the food and grog), and if we can each have an mp3 recording and a pdf of the score. We pay for our own tickets to the premiere. It doesn’t make sense to me to spend money to raise money.

Why do you think the Silo Collective’s model is so effective in the commissioning of living new music?

I think it’s important to say it’s only one way of commissioning, and there are plenty of other ways of commissioning music that are equally valid. Silo doesn’t suit everyone, and that’s absolutely fine. One thing that makes Silo special, I think, is that, to minimise my risk, the commissions are not huge. That means each donor is aware of the significant contribution they have made, which becomes particularly evident at the open rehearsal. Being at the open rehearsal is such a privilege and is something that donors always remark on to me. I think the low-key nature of Silo suits some people - there might even be people like me who don’t like committees and meetings either! I also think the $500 amount allows a number of people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to commission music to be involved, which is great. From the creative side, some musicians and composers have told me how much they appreciate the freedom they get from a Silo commission - I leave it completely up to them and don’t want to know much about the piece until we hear it at the open rehearsal.

The Silo Collective is supporting their first international commission this October. Tell us more about that!

Claire came to me to see if Silo would be willing to commission American composer and saxophone player, Remy Le Boeuf’s piece. I had to think about it for a little while, and went back to Julian Burnside’s comment about a gap in the culture…and started thinking about what is culture, what is our culture… and decided I shouldn't be too narrow in my thinking. I thought about some of the collaborations I’ve been in the audience for over the years - there’s something quite thrilling about artists and organisations from different parts of the world working together. It had never occurred to me that Silo could be involved in such a collaboration, and was suddenly absolutely sure that the Remy Le Boeuf piece was the right commission for Silo, and was very excited at the prospect. A few days later he won the Grammy - I was beside myself. Huge congrats to Arkie Moore, who’ll be playing the piece, for choosing him!!

How do people get involved in a commission?

Best way is to get put on the mailing list (you can email or call/text me). I’m not really into social media - sorry! I send out emails when there’s any news, and there’s no obligation to donate or sign up for life. You also don’t have to ask if you can donate - the emails always have details of where to send the $500. There are a few people who have donated to Silo commissions but haven’t been to open rehearsals, so I still haven’t met them.

Finally, what concert are you most looking forward to in 2026?

I can’t narrow it down to one. It’s obviously Remy Le Boeuf’s. Then there’s the Steve Reich birthday concert - EO introduced me to Steve Reich as well - thanks so much for that! But before those two, I’m off to Amsterdam to see the premiere of Kate Moore’s percussion concerto for Claire. It sprang out of Joyful Melodies, a solo percussion piece for EO, which Silo commissioned. There was no way I was going to miss that.

If you’d like to get involved with the Silo Collective, you can contact Ensemble Offspring via email at admin@ensembleoffspring.com or contact Leta via phone or email.

To hear the Silo Collective’s next commission, come along to Avant Gardens Spring in Sydney and Brisbane this October!

Friday 6 March – Digital Album Release Pre Save/Purchase
Monday 9 March – Sydney Album Launch, The Studio, ACO On The Pier
Wednesday 18 March – Melbourne Album Launch, Melbourne Recital Centre
Saturday 18 April – Amsterdam Album Launch, Splendor
Saturday 25 July – Canberra Album Launch, The Street Theatre

More shows to be released soon in Hobart, Brisbane, Perth and New Zealand.

Dual Attractor is the seventh solo album by internationally acclaimed percussionist and Ensemble Offspring Artistic Director, Claire Edwardes OAM. It will be available in CD format from 9 March 2026, with the digital album released on the ABC Classic label on Friday 6 March.

Dubbed “the sorceress of percussion,” Edwardes has been a defining force in Australian new music for three decades. She maintains a busy solo career presenting recitals and concerto performances with symphony orchestras around Australia and the world.

“As a follow-up to my 2021 album Rhythms of Change, Dual Attractor brings together bespoke new solos and collaborations that feel like an arrival point in my career,” says Edwardes. “Spanning marimba, vibraphone, drums and electronics, these works are all by female composers from around the world whom I deeply admire.”

The album reveals the expressive breadth of Edwardes’ instruments, from the shimmering textures of Missy Mazzoli’s Orizzonte and the hymn-like stillness of Caroline Shaw’s in manus tuas, to the surging energy of Kate Moore’s Joyful Melodiesand the darkly playful I Promise Not to Poison You xoxo by Gemma Peacocke.

The album’s title track, Dual Attractor, for drums and electronics, was created with iconic electro-pop artist Paul Mac, initially for RECITAL (2018), a dance work created with performer Richard Cilli and director/choreographer Gideon Obarzanek. Cilli will join Edwardes on stage for Dual Attractor at the Sydney album launch on Monday 9 March at Machine Hall.

Also featured on the album is Emberstrike by Natalie Williams, a vibraphone solo honouring the Women of Steel at Port Kembla, whose fight for the right to work in the steelworks reshaped Australian employment law. Anna Meredith’s genre-defying bumps per minute for vibraphone and backing track is a techno inspired dreamscape of intense energy.

Edwardes’ discography, released on Tall Poppies, ABC Classic and Move Records, includes Coil (2007), Flash: Marimba Miniatures (2011), One (2013), Kammerbox (2016), Clairaudient (2017) and Rhythms of Change (2021), reflecting her long-standing commitment to commissioning and championing Australian and international new music.

Dual Attractor will be released on digital platforms by ABC Classic on March 6 and physical CDs will be available from March 9 at the Sydney Launch, followed by Melbourne, Amsterdam and Canberra launches with more performances planned for Brisbane, Hobart and New Zealand in the second half of 2026.

Following his standout Ensemble Offspring debut in 2025 as our Hatched Emerging Performer, we are thrilled to welcome pianist Ronan Apcar to the EO family as a permanent member from 2026!

Ronan showed himself to be a virtuosic, empathetic and compelling performer throughout 2025, most notably at Future Classics in the premiere of Thomas Meadowcroft’s Old Rags – a complex series of vignettes for solo piano written especially for him. Limelight praised the performance, writing: “…we are suddenly pulled into the memory while Apcar dives into an intricately written ragtime. A testament to this collaboration, Apcar’s virtuosic skills shine in this vibrant work.”

Ronan Apcar is a pianist as well as composer with a reputation of versatility, verve, and tenacity. His experience and fluency across all kinds of music - jazz to avant-garde, classical to house music - translates into his on stage presence and musical interpretations. Described as “a force to be reckoned with” (ClassikON), in 2025 Ronan showed his new music prowess in collaboration with Ensemble Apex on a piano concerto project uncovering and rediscovering Dulcie Holland’s music to great acclaim. Ronan is already well respected for his eclectic programming of contemporary and new music and navigates a diverse musical life as a performer, composer, and collaborator in concerts, festivals, and projects across metropolitan and regional NSW, Victoria, and the ACT.

You can see Ronan perform as part of Ensemble Offspring in The Oracle, Reich: Rejoice: Repeat and Future Classics in 2026.

This is a condensed article. To read the full article, please visit AMC Resonate Magazine:

Ensemble Offspring was privileged to be invited to present two concerts and a panel as part of ANU's The Gathering from Thursday 27 – Saturday 29 November in Canberra at The Street Theatre. This was a gathering of First Nations peoples and their allies, from Australia and the Pacific, with a focus on First Nations music and art-making, using an inclusive model whereby many of the attendees presented talks, sat on panels or performed. Thanks to Dr Christopher Sainsbury and Will Kepa for being the masterminds behind this fabulous and important weekend of culture, music and knowledge sharing – we are all the richer for experiencing it!

On Friday we were welcomed by what felt like a big extended family of First Nations musicians and composers. It was such a warm and generous vibe - so many hugs and hello's shared in that moment, the yarns, catch-ups and important conversations ensued over the coming days, and what an inspirational time it was for all of us.

Partway through our first concert, I hosted a panel featuring six deadly musicians, several of whom were part of the 2025 Ngarra-Burria cohort, others of whom were new friends to myself and Ensemble Offspring. They were Bunna Lawrie (Mirning Senior Elder and Whale Songman of the Yinyila Nation), our current First Nations Composer in Residence Mark Munk Ross (Jardwadjali/Wotjobulak), Shauntee Abdul Rahmen (Wiradjuri), Nicole Smede (Warrimay & Birrbay), Troy Russell (Biripai & Gamilaroi) and Davin Ojala (Anaiwan)

Saturday night saw the final concert, where Ensemble Offspring performed highlights from the last nine years of Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers, with a cameo from Opeloge and colleagues midway through. We took the opportunity to announce the fact that Ensemble Offspring will be stepping down as Ensemble in Residence for Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers in 2026 after 10 years of deep-seated commitment, investment, championing, relationship building and cultural immersion. The time is indeed ripe to officially pass on the baton and let the next generation take the program to its next stage - whatever that may be. It goes without saying that Ensemble Offspring will continue to champion First Nations voices with new projects and the continuation of our First Nations Composer in Residence position - all I can say for now is, watch this space!

Written by Claire Edwardes (Artistic Director and percussionist).

The Gathering photos by Stephen Wilson Barker

My name is Marilla Gibian-Stuart, I am a Year 10 cellist and music student who was fortunate enough to complete my work experience with Ensemble Offspring during the week of the 2025 Hatched Composer Intensive. As someone who has had the opportunity to see several performances by EO, I really took an interest in being able to see the workings of a smaller company and ensemble. The week followed a structure of various workshops and rehearsals between the composers and musicians of EO to collaborate and experiment with new sounds and techniques across the instruments. We had the opportunity to hear from Dharawal musician Sonya Holowell on First Nations artists within the classical music industry, and the role that EO initiatives such as Ngarra-Burria play in creating these opportunities through long-term collaboration and consultation. It was a really great environment in which constructive criticism was traded back and forth, and everyone was able to create an outcome they were proud of.

This was the first opportunity I’ve had to see a chamber ensemble rehearse; where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and collaborate, and everyone’s opinions are equal. It creates a very unique and beautiful sense of community, especially in the context of bringing new music to life. This kind of ensemble is epitome democracy, unlike the somewhat dictatorial nature of large orchestras. It was fascinating to hear the thoughts and motivations of the Hatched composers in the creation of their music, and how they were able to express a sentiment that you can’t put into words.

Each of the four pieces took inspiration from unique concepts, experiences, and other pieces of art. Beth Roche’s Netherlandish Proverbs musically depicts the 1559 oil painting by Pieter Brugel the Elder representing four proverbs. Beginning with “To be unable to see the sun shine on the water”, each vignette has a consistent harmonic character. Callum O’Reilly takes the mechanical, circular rhythm of a CD skipping, as well as the movement of a Buddha statue to create his Mechanical Buddha with Fluctuations. Louis Wishart’s expressions of the change in one’s perception of ‘flatness’ within a landscape, based on the writings of Henry David Thoreau and Cormac McCarthy, is titled Children of Aurora. Georgina Bowden’s Magnetic Fields is inspired by the movement of the Southern Lights, and the sensation of being unsure what you are really seeing. It was particularly fascinating to see the workshopping of Bowden’s graphic score, as every time the music was played, it was different.

My week was certainly unorthodox as far as work experience goes, but that made it all the more enjoyable. I’m incredibly grateful to EO for this opportunity, and I look forward to seeing Hatched happen again next year!

Written by Marilla Gibian-Stuart

Hatched Composer Intensive photos by Oliver Miller

After his time in Canberra and Melbourne, Ronan Apcar has returned to his hometown of Sydney to focus on various projects throughout 2025 including concert work, recording work, residencies, and collaborative work with other artists and organisations - plus being Ensemble Offspring’s 2025 Hatched Emerging Performer! His current main creative focus is about developing a performance practice that both incorporates electronic or digital musicmaking and is portable, and exploring all the possibilities of live performance that this opens up - especially different performance spaces.

Georgina Bowden is a composer, visual artist and multidisciplinary creator living in Adelaide, South Australia. As one of our 2025 Hatched Academy Composers, Georgina interviewed Ronan about his musical background, interests and current projects.

Georgina: When did you first start playing piano and what made you stick with it?

Ronan: When I first got a Nintendo DS, probably about eight years old. One of the first games that came out for the DS were those “brain training” games by Dr Kawashima, and one part of that game was a piano player segment. I thought it was heaps of fun and I wanted to do it on the ‘real deal,’ so I started copying out the Nintendo songs (it was literally just note names with a line for how long it went for - extremely inaccurate) to play on the piano that my dad had in the house. My older sister was taught piano and had all these books on learning piano, so when it was time to graduate from the Nintendo DS, I just voraciously read through these books.

I’m not really sure why I kept going; I guess it was fun and I was good at it. It was about seven years before I took it seriously and actually practised, so for me it feels like I’ve just stumbled into this world.

Georgina: You seem to work across many musical genres - tell us about your favourite kinds of gigs to work on and why!

Ronan: Maybe this is a bit self-indulgent but it’s the gigs I get to curate, probably because they often end up traversing many genres. I think the reason I love putting two seemingly unrelated pieces next to each other is because I believe that they mutually dissolve each other’s prejudices or expectations. Like in a program I did last year, putting Black Country, New Road (a British alt-rock band) alongside Sarah Nemtsov (a pretty cutting-edge German contemporary composer) seemed to level out the playing field; people who might see BC,NR as vapid pop music or see Nemtsov as “hard-to-listen-to” seem to come with a more open mind and realise the two pieces are actually expressing the same thing. At the end of the day, isn’t all music - no matter the style - a form of human expression?

Georgina: You’re also a composer - tell us about what you’ve been composing lately.

Ronan: Yeah a big focus this year has been basically how to use electronics, mainly for two reasons: to move away from the piano and to expand my sonic palette. I did two residencies this year (one at Mount Wilson, one at Bundanon) and brought with me a Nord keyboard, a Digitakt II drum machine, some pedals and mics - and even an old piano accordion! - and just improvised, learning about how to achieve sounds I wanted and what my workflow looked like. It’s been a really steep learning curve.

The idea has been about developing a new performance practice with this setup, but it totally combines composition and improvisation as well. While it wasn’t my goal, I actually ended up with a 20-40 minute piece from each residency which are both somewhere between structured improvisations and notated compositions. Break(ing)down was inspired by unbelievable amounts of fungi I saw in Mt Wilson, and The clouds are gathered for the final storm is a response to the amazing shapeshifters that clouds can be.

Georgina: Which musician/s have you enjoyed working with recently?

Ronan: Heaps of people! I feel lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing artists. I’ll try to rattle them off…

My friends Maria Zhdanovich, Jack Overall, and Sola Hughes and I have been improvising together over the last couple years. In July we had a self-imposed intensive to try and create an improv EP…that was a really nourishing few days and I love how open we are to each other’s musicianship. 

Back in August in my recording project with Ensemble Apex, conductor Sam Weller brought such a positive energy and created a warm, democratic rehearsal space. Maybe it sounds silly, but it was really honest musicmaking with good humour thrown in and I really admired him for that.

Also, Lotte Betts-Dean who invited me to collaborate on her Sydney Festival show. She brought a program that was totally up my alley (i.e., all over the place!) and she was a phenomenal artist and someone who really inspired me.

And of course, the EO crew… I’m finding that chances to play chamber music can be far and few for me, let alone new and contemporary chamber works, so it’s a privilege to get to work on this repertoire with musicians who are also just as into it.

Georgina: Do you have a dream collaboration? Maybe a performer you would love to write a piece for, or another artist (musical or not!) you’d love to collaborate with?

Ronan: I have no idea what it’d look like, but the choreographer Sharon Eyal. I saw her work SAABA and was so obsessed with everything about it - the everchanging yet somewhat cyclical choreography, the club-inspired aesthetic, and the quasi-house music score by Ori Lichtik. I’d love to make work in that space and I would love to work more with dancers. I’ve always said that if I wasn’t a musician, I’d hope to be a dancer instead.

Georgina: What’s an extramusical thing that inspires you?

Ronan: Two very cliché things: my environment and my feelings. I draw a lot on my own experiences to help put the work I’m making or playing in a real emotional context. And I also spend a lot of time outside and I reckon I’m pretty sensitive to my environment - I get very irritable very quickly when the weather’s crap or if I’m left in an uninspiring or ugly place for too long. Maybe my work is often not explicitly about my environments, but I think that being connected to a natural environment inspires and allows me to be the best musician I can be.

Ronan will be joining us at Future Classics at 3pm on 22 November 2025 to perform new works by the 2025 Hatched Academy cohort. Through our Emerging Performer Commission, Ronan has also commissioned UK-composer Thomas Meadowcroft to write a new solo for him, to be premiered at Future Classics.

Callum O'Reilly is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and multimedia artist currently based in Perth, Western Australia. With work that has been described as “hyper-modern” and “profoundly colourful,” he enjoys pushing traditional conventions and contorting the limits of the classical ensemble. He incorporates elements of electronic music, hip-hop, pop, and spiritual jazz, creating sonic worlds that are original and deeply embedded in modern culture while also murmuring the musical legacy of the past. He holds a Bachelor of Music Composition from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and is currently completing a Master's degree at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

After his time in Canberra and Melbourne, Ronan Apcar has returned to his hometown of Sydney to focus on various projects throughout 2025 including concert work, recording work, residencies, and collaborative work with other artists and organisations - plus being Ensemble Offspring’s 2025 Hatched Emerging Performer! Ronan interviewed Callum about his musical background, interests and current projects.

Ronan: Do you have any formative experiences or early memories that you think shaped you into the composer/artist you are today?

Callum: As a kid I spent many hours making beats on a bootleg copy of fruity loops studio. This is a music software designed primarily to make electronic music and I would use it to make hip hop beats. Somewhere along the way I became interested in classical music and discovered and really dove very deep into the classical cannon. I think that the playful fun of DAW beatmaking and the ‘seriousness’ of classical music is where I sit musically. In fact, in my mind I find it difficult to discern what kind of composer I am because at this point in time I have written beats for classical ensembles.

Ronan: Do you have a dream collaboration? Maybe a performer you would love to write a piece for, or another artist (musical or not!) you’d love to collaborate with?

Callum: What kind of dreams we talking here? Björk would be cool. I would love to write some sort of song cycle with Lætitia Sadier from Stereolab on the text and vocals… I love her voice. I really want to write a Ballet for a skilled ballet company. I think about dance a lot when writing music, even if I'm not writing music directly for dance. I really like installation art and would be interested in collaborating with lighting designers and digital artists. And of course there are many classical musicians who I would love to collaborate with, actually I’m lucky enough to be collaborating with them right now this year including Ensemble Offspring, and I’m not just saying that to be flattering, I really do feel lucky to have such great artists ask me to write them music. It’s an honour. 

Ronan: If you had to pick another artform or creative practice besides music, what would it be?

Callum: Filmmaking. I’m equally obsessed with films as I am with music. It’s much more expensive than making music and much more collaborative. I saw that the composer Jóhann Jóhannsson made a film called First and Last Men to accompany his music. This could be a possibility eventually. In saying this, I have never made music with film in mind and if I’m writing music I’m usually only interested in the music itself without needing anything visual to accompany it. 

Ronan: Performers often have some kind of ritual before they go on stage - do you have any rituals for when it’s time to compose?

Callum: I wish that I did… In reality every piece that I write has its own unique challenges to solve and most of the time that means that I start from square one, well at least it feels that way. I have a few books that I refer to for inspiration. There are a few artists who I like to spend some time with if I’m feeling stuck - David Lynch, Laurie Anderson, Ryuchi Sakamoto, John Waters, Brian Eno and others. 

Ronan: What’s one of your most favourite sounds in the world - and one of your least favourites?

Callum: There’s this great interview with composer Stockhausen which you can find on youtube where the interviewer asks him “can you tell me what the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard is?” and after an awkward pause he says “no” with a deadpan expression. I think that maybe it’s because sounds can either be beautiful or annoying depending on the context. I love the sound of a rooster crow. Have you ever heard the call of an Australian Bustard? It has this terrifying low roar sound which is like a T-Rex. The Kookaburra has a great sound. 

My least favourite sound is probably anything which comes out of a phone. Maybe I’m just traumatised from my morning alarm clock, but I also never overhear someone playing something loudly on their phone and think “ahh that’s beautiful”. 

Ronan: What’s a recent composition or project you’re proud of and would like to share?

Callum: I recently composed a piece for Omega Ensemble called State of Flux which sounds like the title of a PS2 game, but it was a 15 minute piece of contemporary classical music with electronics. There were gabber style club beats in it and weird glitchy distorted vocals. It’s probably my best work to date and Omega Ensemble absolutely nailed it as you would expect! The record should be somewhere online soon with the score.  

Ronan: Tell us a bit about your composition to be premiered at Future Classics!

Callum: For my piece written with Ensemble Offspring I was thinking a lot about looping (taking a sample of music and letting it repeat over and over) and then I started to think about looping which is unintentional like a broken record or a CD skipping, and I thought that it would be fun to make a piece of music that skips and lags. It’s also very pretty and shiny at moments. 

Callum’s new work, composed through our Hatched Academy Composers program, will premiere on 22 November 2025 at the Uzton Room, Sydney Opera House, performed by Ensemble Offspring as part of Future Classics.

Georgina Bowden is a composer, visual artist and multidisciplinary creator living in Adelaide, South Australia. Her music has been performed across Europe and Australia, recently in the ASO’s multimedia concert at the Light Room Adelaide, Ensemble Musikfabrik’s studio in Cologne, Hannover New Music’s Zeitlupe series, and Ostrava Days Festival in Czechia. Georgina transforms concepts from sciences, arts and politics into visceral music. These may be spatial and sensory experiences, drawing on her architecture training. This year she is also writing for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Cybec program.

After his time in Canberra and Melbourne, Ronan Apcar has returned to his hometown of Sydney to focus on various projects throughout 2025 including concert work, recording work, residencies, and collaborative work with other artists and organisations - plus being Ensemble Offspring’s 2025 Hatched Emerging Performer! Ronan interviewed Georgina about her musical background, interests and current projects.

Ronan: Do you have any formative experiences or early memories that you think shaped you into the composer/artist you are today?

Georgina: I’m very grateful for training in architecture. It was formative to my thinking, and opened my mind to artistic depth and broader purpose of any creative work. Consequently I believe it’s important to take time to figure out concepts I want to explore in sound and consider how they’d work before getting stuck into the composition process.

Ronan: Do you have a dream collaboration? Maybe a performer you would love to write a piece for, or another artist (musical or not!) you’d love to collaborate with?

Georgina: With the type of music I write, I’m very keen to work with Elision ensemble of course - I think our creative approaches are complimentary. I’d also love to collaborate with people making new types of art form, like Punchdrunk (immersive theatre in London), and 1781 collective (experimental musical art performances in Berlin). I’m also keen to be part of Adelaide’s Illuminate festival with my mini glow-in-the-dark opera.

Ronan: If you had to pick another artform or creative practice besides music, what would it be?

Georgina: I have been an artist longer than a musician. Drawing is actually my default expressive medium - but I do come from a family of architects so that’s not surprising…

Ronan: Performers often have some kind of ritual before they go on stage - do you have any rituals for when it’s time to compose?

Georgina: I walk along the Torrens river… being in nature gets my mind happy and curious. And there are always some laughs to be had from the silly parrots.

Ronan: What’s one of your most favourite sounds in the world - and one of your least favourites?

Georgina: Are you referring to that Stockhausen interview? I love that clip and he makes a good point!

Ronan: What’s a recent composition or project you’re proud of and would like to share?

Georgina: I had a very special experience working with Musikfabrik. I wrote a piece translating my experience of Uluru into sound - not literally, but the sense of a great mass, the form and negative space - and asking the musicians to be vulnerable and try challenging things. They truly took to it to the next level, and every performance I watched with my jaw on the floor - I admire them so much.

Ronan: Tell us a bit about your composition to be premiered at Future Classics!

Georgina: Sometimes pieces end up being similar to how you first imagined them, and sometimes you have processes like this one for me, where it takes some unexpected turns and arrives at a different place! Starting off as a play with ‘acoustic depth’ - ie dry sounds against sustained or reverb - the piece has actually turned into a game-like graphic score exploring ideas of magnetism and imitation, where the actual score itself looks a bit like the southern lights (which is a visualisation of earth’s magnetic field). It still plays with ideas of vastness and depth in sound, but the critical elements are interactions of the routes in the game and choices that the performers make in relation to one another. 

Georgina’s new work, composed through our Hatched Academy Composers program, will premiere on 22 November 2025 at the Uzton Room, Sydney Opera House, performed by Ensemble Offspring as part of Future Classics.

29 October, 2025

Arkie Moore is one of Sydney’s most exciting young trumpet talents. Recognised for her versatility across a broad range of musical styles, she is a sought-after freelance performer and dedicated trumpet teacher. In 2025, Arkie was Associate Principal Trumpet on the Australian Youth Orchestra International Tour to Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, performing under David Robertson (NYC) in venues including the Concertgebouw (AMS) and Musikverein (WIE).

We interviewed Arkie about her musical background, interests, being chosen as the Hatched Emerging Performer and her plans for next year with Ensemble Offspring.

As our Hatched Emerging Performer, Arkie will be performing with us in our 2026 concerts! Come see her and the ensemble at The Oracle at ACO On The Pier in June, Avant Gardens: Spring in Sydney and Brisbane in October, and Future Classics (our Hatched Academy program) at the Sydney Opera House in November.

Why are you excited about being Ensemble Offspring’s 2026 Hatched Emerging Performer?

I’m excited for the opportunity to delve deeper into the world of new music — I have always been drawn to contemporary repertoire due to its rhythmic nature, technically difficult qualities, and its ‘bizarreness’ that creates space for self-expression and authenticity. The chance to play in a new music ensemble however is rare, so performing with Ensemble Offspring next year alongside such high-calibre musicians will be such a privilege! I am particularly looking forward to learning and drawing inspiration from Ensemble Offspring members regarding chamber music, as I would love to maybe start-up and tour with my own chamber ensemble one day.

What first drew you to the trumpet? How old were you when you started playing and what made you stick with it?

I actually originally picked the French Horn over the trumpet, because I liked its ‘curliness’… But Mum persuaded me to pick trumpet instead before any instruments were purchased, because of its versatility and family history (my great grandfather Archie Moore played the cornet). I began playing when I was almost 8, and loved making a huge sound and getting to play the melody — not much has changed in that regard I guess!

What made you decide to pursue music as your career?

Playing music is really special, as it is both a passion and a lifestyle that brings people together to create, experiment and explore. There is no limit, and there is always more to learn, and that’s what I love about it. Music has allowed me to travel, and to meet and play with some amazing musicians who continue to inspire me through their resilience, ambition and drive. I really cherish being a part of this community, and couldn’t imagine a life without music.

Why do you like playing new music and jazz specifically?

I like playing new music and jazz because of the emphasis on style, freedom and groove. Playing these genres allows me to relax, let loose and take more risks.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

In ten years time I would love to have toured the globe, and be settled into Sydney (or elsewhere) as a freelance trumpet player. Either that or be in a full-time chamber ensemble!

What are you looking forward to in 2026?

I’m really looking forward to working with Remy Le Boeuf and premiering his new commission through Ensemble Offspring’s Hatched Program!

Louis Wishart is a Sydney-based Composer and Musician, whose sound synthesises free-improvisation aesthetics with a focus on resonance, spectralism, and linear processes. Louis has had his music performed internationally, in Houston with the AURA ensemble, Ensemble Garage in Cologne and Ostrava, as well as a recent Czech premiere by Ostravska Banda in August, where Louis returned to the Ostrava Days festival. Louis focuses his time towards his ensemble "Scalp", which debuted in January and July 2025, premiering a new work by Louis, as well as his arrangement of the punk operetta "John Gavanti".

After his time in Canberra and Melbourne, Ronan Apcar has returned to his hometown of Sydney to focus on various projects throughout 2025 including concert work, recording work, residencies, and collaborative work with other artists and organisations - plus being Ensemble Offspring’s 2025 Hatched Emerging Performer! Ronan interviewed Louis about his musical background, interests and current projects.

Ronan: Do you have any formative experiences or early memories that you think shaped you into the composer/artist you are today?

Louis: The first time I ever presented music I’d written to actual musicians was really influential on my path towards focusing on composition. I played in a jazz quintet in early high school at a time when I’d been listening to a lot of Roy Hargrove and playing a lot of piano. So I wrote a piece inspired by his music and presented it to my bandmates, and it was the moment I heard these musicians that I respected so much bring their own life and individuality to something I just came up with at the piano that changed everything for me. I’d say afterwards discovering the music of Charles Mingus set me up to start really playing around with structure in Jazz Composition and Large Jazz Ensembles, which I’d say led a direct route to the composers I love the most today; Anthony Braxton, Witold Lutoslawski, Pauline Oliveros, Peter Ablinger, Maryanne Amacher, Gyorgy Kurtag, Morton Feldman, Charles Ives, Annesley Black and Lisa Streich.

Ronan: Do you have a dream collaboration? Maybe a performer you would love to write a piece for, or another artist (musical or not!) you’d love to collaborate with?

Louis: One of my biggest idols has always been Scott Walker. His late albums Tilt, The Drift and Bish Bosch have been an immeasurable influence on my composition, the structures and the poetics of my music so I think the opportunity to have been an orchestrator or arranger on one of his projects would have been an absolute dream.

Ronan: If you had to pick another artform or creative practice besides music, what would it be?

Louis: During High School I almost made the switch completely from music to filmmaking so I’d have to say filmmaking. The main reason I abandoned filmmaking is because it was getting more and more difficult to convince my friends to work on my films all the time, and it was at a similar time that I started composing so I guess in a sense it was just a continuation of what I was already doing. I do quite a bit of film scoring, and I see myself possibly returning to filmmaking in the future, but music will always be the centre of everything.

Ronan: Performers often have some kind of ritual before they go on stage - do you have any rituals for when it’s time to compose?

Louis: I don’t know if I have much of a pre-composing ritual. I’d say I always have a pot of tea when composing which I feel like is a psychological trick I use to get me settled in my space to compose and explore. I’ll also often listen to a new piece of music I haven’t heard before getting started, but other than that I keep it pretty simple.

Ronan: What’s one of your most favourite sounds in the world - and one of your least favourites?

Louis: I get a lot of a comfort from busy sounds, like the rustling of grass or a strong wind making it’s way through a thick forest, or the distant sound of lots of people talking. I also get comfort from gentle humming sounds, like the subtle tones in a fan or a train passing by in the middle of the night. In terms of my least favourite sounds, I’ve lived with misophonia for most of my life so eating sounds usually does the trick.

Ronan: What’s a recent composition or project you’re proud of and would like to share?

Louis: My new quartet will be debuting on the 25th of November at Jetsets at Rockdale. We will be playing a set of new compositions by myself, focusing on concepts used frequently in my concert music drawn from my transcriptions and studies of open improvisations. Featuring myself on Trumpet and Piano, the band is a stellar line up of Sydney’s best musicians: Sam Killick on Guitar; Henry Hall on Double Bass; and Hayley Chan on drums. Also, as my ensemble “Scalp” prepares for our 2026 season, you can follow us on Instagram @scalpensemble as we post clips from our debut concert from July, as well as receive updates and announcements for future concerts.

Ronan: Tell us a bit about your composition to be premiered at Future Classics!

Louis: The work that I have written for Future Classics is called Children of Aurora. The impetus for the work came from an excerpt from Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian” and Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”, resulting in an exploration of flatness and vanishing points. McCarthy’s description of the transcendent flatness of prairie landscapes was hypnotic in it’s primordial representation of 19th Century America, post US-Mexico War. This coalesced when reading of Thoreau’s emphasis on simplicity and returning to a collective consciousness and cyclical existence within nature, namely in his allusion to the Colossi of Memnon, two large stone sculptures in Egypt depicting Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Following an Earthquake partially damaging the stones, records report the colossi emitting a fragile whistling cry at Dawn, likely due to the evaporation of dew in the porous rock. Thus, it was given the nickname Memnon, being the son of Aurora, the goddess of the Dawn. To quote Thoreau, “All poets and heroes, like Memnon, are the children of Aurora, and emit their music at sunrise. To him whose elastic and vigorous thought keeps pace with the sun, the day is a perpetual morning… Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me”. This became the catalyst for an exploration of sonic vanishing points, using the topography of mountain ranges to generate rhythms for the piano clusters, between which sits the ensemble representing the transcendent flatness, the horizon which gets further away the more you approach. Using the piano in its extreme registers as a generator for spectral material for the ensemble to render elevation, the piece positions stark simplicity against intense polyphonic detail as two representations of the same transcendent flatness, with the larger structural process applied to register and timbre merging these two perspectives into broader vanishing points of intra and extra-musical meaning, to form one image. 

Louis’ new work Children of Aurora, composed through our Hatched Academy Composers program, will premiere on 22 November 2025 at the Uzton Room, Sydney Opera House, performed by Ensemble Offspring as part of Future Classics.

Beth Roche is a Sydney-based composer in her final year of a Bachelor of Music (composition) at the Sydney Conservatorium. An accomplished pianist and bass guitarist, Beth performs and writes in a variety of styles. In 2025, she was selected for the Australian Youth Orchestra’s composition programme where she worked under Jessica Wells to write a piece for chamber orchestra. Recently, Beth took part in the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra’s composer programme, and is currently writing for Ensemble Offspring's Hatched Academy and for an oboe quartet commission. Beth is also a passionate arranger, having arranged for community wind orchestra and for an upcoming pop artist.

After his time in Canberra and Melbourne, Ronan Apcar has returned to his hometown of Sydney to focus on various projects throughout 2025 including concert work, recording work, residencies, and collaborative work with other artists and organisations - plus being Ensemble Offspring’s 2025 Hatched Emerging Performer! Ronan interviewed Beth about her musical background, interests and current projects.

Ronan: Do you have any formative experiences or early memories that you think shaped you into the composer/artist you are today?

Beth: I think one of my most important formative musical experiences was playing in wind and jazz bands throughout school. It really inspired my love for instrumental music, and it was special to be able to come together with such a large group of people to be a part of something bigger than myself.

Ronan: Do you have a dream collaboration? Maybe a performer you would love to write a piece for, or another artist (musical or not!) you’d love to collaborate with?

Beth: I would love to write for The Bang on a Can All-Stars.

Ronan: If you had to pick another artform or creative practice besides music, what would it be?

Beth: I’m not at all good with visual arts but I wish I knew how to animate. I love the work of early drawn-on-film animators like Harry Smith, Len Lye and Norman Mclaren- something about the abstract wash of bright colours, shapes and patterns really resonates with me.

Ronan: Performers often have some kind of ritual before they go on stage - do you have any rituals for when it’s time to compose?

Beth: To get into the headspace for composing I love to make English Breakfast tea and burn incense.

Ronan: What’s one of your most favourite sounds in the world - and one of your least favourites?

Beth: One of my favourite sounds is the sound of an orchestra tuning because it holds this magical pre-concert air of excitement and anticipation. My least favourite sound in the world is my alarm clock.

Ronan: What’s a recent composition or project you’re proud of and would like to share?

Beth: A recent composition that I’m proud of is the piece I wrote for the Australian Youth Orchestra camp earlier this year! It’s called Refraction, Reflection and it’s a musical imagining of light being refracted through a prism. If you’d like to listen, you can find it on YouTube!

Ronan: Tell us a bit about your composition to be premiered at Future Classics!

Beth: My piece for Future Classics is called Netherlandish Proverbs. It shares its title with a 1559 oil painting by Pieter Brugel the Elder that depicts literal illustrations of Dutch proverbs and idioms. From this painting, I took 4 proverbs and structured the piece as 4 connected vignettes based on each of these.

Beth’s new work Netherlandish Proverbs, composed through our Hatched Academy Composers program, will premiere at 3pm on 22 November 2025 at the Uzton Room, Sydney Opera House, performed by Ensemble Offspring as part of Future Classics.

7 October, 2025

Written by composer Nicole Smede (Warrimay).

I was first invited to submit an expression of interest for the 2024 Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers program after meeting Dr Christopher Sainsbury during my 2022 Space to Create fellowship at ANU. The opportunity arrived expansively — a continuation of what I care most about: music as story, connection, and cultural continuation. I was honoured to take part alongside a remarkable group of First Nations composers. After completing the 2024 program, I was again invited to further develop my compositional practice in a second round, deepening both skill and intuition.

My background is in classical music; I studied vocal performance at the Sydney Conservatorium. Though I didn’t follow the traditional path of a classical singer, that training shaped how I listen and build sound; how breath, silence, and resonance can shape emotion. Through Ngarra-Burria, I began to understand how those instincts belong within a broader compositional language, one that can hold both notation and intuition, tradition and Country.

My new work for this year’s program, Garan (Wings of Birds), takes its title from Gathang, the language of the Birrbay, Guringay, and my Warrimay ancestors. The idea came one morning while drinking coffee on my verandah, watching a murmuration twist and turn across the sky. At first, there was only one bird weaving above rooftops, then many - a flock moving in perfect synchrony before vanishing southward. That motion, that quiet choreography, became the seed of the work.

Written for Ensemble Offspring, Garan mirrors that motion in sound. The piano follows the circular path of the flock; the clarinet, the arc of a lone bird; and the percussion breathes between them with brushes, chimes, and bows evoking feathers, wings, and wind, blending scored and improvised sections, giving each musician room to respond to the sound world and to each other.

Birds hold deep significance in Aboriginal culture. They are totems, messengers, and kin, connecting us to Sky Country where our ancestors dwell among the stars, moving between worlds, carrying stories, warnings, and wisdom. In Garan, I wanted to evoke that movement of spirit and message crossing sky to land, sound to silence.

When I hear the ensemble bring the piece to life, I feel a sense of widening, as if the room itself becomes sky. I hope audiences feel that, too: an opening, an invitation to attune to what hovers just beyond hearing. What messages are being carried above us, and what might they be trying to say?

Ngarra-Burria reminds me that stories can be told in endless ways, through melody, rhythm, timbre, vibration, resonance, and breath. The program has expanded my collaborative practice, bridging soundscape, field recording, language, and ensemble. Each composition becomes another act of listening, a return to Country through sound.

Garan (Wings of Birds) will premiere on 15 October 2025 at Eugene Goossens Hall, ABC Ultimo, performed by Ensemble Offspring as part of the Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers concert series.

Today we celebrate 30 years of trailblazing new music! Since our very first performance as part of the Sydney Spring Festival, Ensemble Offspring has championed the most adventurous sounds of our time, and 2025 has been no exception!

This year has already been a memorable one:

• We premiered five cutting-edge works and explored the intersection of sound and technology at Lumen Machine with our old pianist Zubin Kanga,

• We travelled to New York to perform at Bang on a Can’s Long Play Festival (and Claire & Lamorna got stuck in Dallas on the way home),

• We embraced the darker side of contemporary classical music in Divine Darkness, 

• We took home a gong at the 2025 Art Music Awards for Gilgamesh and

• Claire turned 50 today—the same day that EO turned 30!

In celebration of our 30th birthday, we’re reflecting on some of our favourite concerts from the past three decades. Follow along on Facebook and Instagram, or take a nostalgic journey through our curated from the archives playlist:

But the party isn’t over yet! Here's what’s coming up as we wrap up this milestone year:

Moonstruck

We’re ending our birthday celebrations with a bang! Moonstruck is a thrilling collaboration between two 2025 Art Music Award winners: Ensemble Offspring and Sydney Chamber Opera. We’ll be joined by two acclaimed Australian vocalists, Jane Sheldon and Jessica Aszodi.

26 September – The Street, Canberra
28 September – Eugene Goossens Hall, Sydney

Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers Showcase

Our annual Ngarra-Burria concert is back, shining a light on powerful new works from the 2025 First Peoples Composers cohort. Hear new instrumental works from the 2025 cohort alongside music by Mark ‘Munk’ Ross and join the celebration of stories reflecting culture, country and connection to the here and now.

15 October – Eugene Goossens Hall, Sydney

Future Classics

We round out the year with Future Classics, our showcase of the 2025 Hatched Academy Composers: Georgina Bowden, Callum O’Reilly, Beth Roche, and Louis Wishart.

Following a week-long intensive with mentors from around the world, these emerging talents will debut brand-new works written especially for Ensemble Offspring. Featuring guest pianist Ronan Apcar—our 2025 Hatched Emerging Performer—this is your chance to hear the future of Australian art music.

22 November – Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House

Thank you for being part of our journey over the past 30 years. We can't wait to see you at one of our upcoming concerts and to keep sharing bold new music with you for many more years to come!

– Ensemble Offspring