In July, more than 30 IWF NSW members and friends gathered at the beautiful Totem Road furniture store in Paddington, Sydney, for an afternoon of musical stories and performances by percussionist Claire Edwardes OAM, Artistic Director and CEO of Ensemble Offspring.
At the heart of Ensemble Offspring’s mission is an unwavering commitment to the creation and dissemination of living new music. Since forming in 1995, they have commissioned and premiered over 350 new works, solidifying their position as the foremost champions of contemporary music in Australia. In particular, they actively promote underrepresented voices including female-identifying, First Nations, and emerging artists
Everyone made themselves comfortable in this beautiful setting and were introduced to the instrument of the day – the marimba. Similar to a xylophone, the marimba is made up of a series of wooden bars aranged like a piano with resonators, or tubes, underneath each bar to amplify the sound when struck with a mallet.
Claire, who also performs solo, spoke about her recent publication of works to assist in the teaching of the marimba. She also outlined the activities undertaken by Ensemble Offspring such as Hatched Academy, an incubator for emerging Australian artists, which nurtures the next generation of cultural leaders through a composer intensive, individual mentorships, and an emerging performer position and its First Nations Composer in Residence and Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers programs elevating the voices of Indigenous artists, foregrounding their rich cultural perspectives through instrumental chamber music.
The musical program consisted of:
- Peggy Polias – Receptor
- Anne Cawrse - Meditations & Hymns
- Maria Grenfell – Stings & Wings
- Elena Kats-Chernin - Violet’s Etude
Peggy explained writing this work during COVID and the connection of music to the viral lifecycle. Elena, a long-term collaborator with Claire, talked about the process for development of the work (Violet’s Etude was written for Claire’s daughter) and how intertwined the performer and the composer can be. Particularly with the physical limitations of the marimba.
Maria MacNamara spoke to the fact that composers can’t exist without musicians, neither can exist without an audience, since COVID. Well known internationally.
IWF Australia Members have kindly been offered a two for one discount for Ensemble Offspring’s upcoming performance – MOONSTRUCK – in Sydney 3:00 – 5:00pm Sunday 28 September. For the details and to book tickets visit the Ensemble Offspring website and use the discount code EOFRIENDS.
Everyone really enjoyed the special and unique event, and we would also like to thank Olivia Taranga wines, a family owned, woman-run business, for their generous support.
Visit the Ensemble Offspring website for more information and sign up to the monthly newsletter to hear about upcoming concerts! There is a button on the top RH corner of the website where you can join.
