About Us
Ensemble Offspring is Australia’s leading new music group, standing at the forefront of musical innovation. Led by internationally acclaimed percussionist Claire Edwardes OAM, the ensemble unites the country’s most fearless and virtuosic instrumentalists. Together, they create “visceral, joyous music” (Sydney Morning Herald) through kaleidoscopically varied performances that blaze a trail for Australian music.
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. This dedication has earned the ensemble the 2022 Classical:NEXT Innovation Award, the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Group Award, multiple APRA Art Music Awards and two ARIA Award nominations.
Ensemble Offspring’s annual development programs are an essential pillar of Australia’s musical ecosystem. Hatched Academy is an incubator for emerging Australian artists which nurtures the next generation of cultural leaders through a composer intensive, individual mentorships, and an associate artist position; the Noisy Women Commission amplifies the voice of an exceptional female-identifying or non-binary composer; and the First Nations Composer in Residence and Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers programs elevate the music of Indigenous artists, foregrounding their rich cultural perspectives.
By boldly subverting classical traditions, Ensemble Offspring deliver concerts that “burst with imagination, energy and inspiration” (Seesaw Magazine). Through their pioneering spirit, pursuit of excellence and relentless commitment to equality, the ensemble continue to shape a vibrant and diverse future for Australian music.
Patron
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Shane Simpson is a chairman of Studio A and a director of the UNSW Foundation. He is also on the Council of the National Library of Australia and is the independent director on several private foundations. Shane Simpson was the founder of the Arts Law Centre of Australia and the Prelude Project (a national network of composer houses). He is Special Counsel at Simpsons Solicitors, a firm specialising in the arts, entertainment, cultural property and copyright. He was formerly chair of the Bundanon Trust; Advisory Council of the Faculty of Art + Design, UNSW; The Aboriginal Benefits Foundation; the NSW Film and Television Office and Museums and Galleries NSW and a non-executive director on numerous boards in the cultural industries including the Australian Maritime Museum the New Zealand Film Commission, the Australian National Academy of Music, the National Association for the Visual Arts, the Crafts Council of Australia, the Music Council of Australia and the Copyright Agency. He is the author of many books including the classic, ‘Music Business’.
Board
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Simon Miller is the CEO of Anglicare Sydney, where he leads a large not-for-profit with more than 4000 staff serving people in need. He also has extensive not-for-profit Board and public sector executive experience. From these roles, he brings deep governance, strategy, finance and fundraising skills to Ensemble Offspring. Prior to Anglicare, Simon was a Senior Partner and Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group, leading the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence and Analytics business. At BCG, he advised executives at some of the world’s largest companies and governments on digital, strategy, M&A, innovation and organisation. He’s also a (very average) flute player and (enthusiastic) supporter of the arts!
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Hannah Mason is the Director, Production & Events at the Sydney Opera House. She has more than 25 years’ experience across the arts, talent management, digital marketing, and production and stage management fields. From 2015 to 2021 Hannah was General Manager at Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and her earlier roles have included Group General Manager at talent management company, Artist & Entertainment Group, General Manager at web and digital marketing agency, The Web Showroom. Prior to emigrating to Australia, Hannah spent 10 years working in stage and technical production management roles in the UK, including London’s West End. Hannah was a non-executive director of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs from 2011 to 2015 and was a member of the Create NSW Artform Advisory board for Classical Music, Opera and Choral until 2022.
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Wayne Smithson is an Associate Professor at the Universal Business School Sydney and brings his wealth of experience in accounting, teaching and business in a number of national and international companies over a commercial career spanning over forty years. His senior finance positions include National Finance Director for Ernst & Young and Finance Director for the Bank of New Zealand in Australia. Wayne has experience across many industries including manufacturing, services, logistics and teaching. Wayne is a qualified CPA, a Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders and was a graduate member of the Australian Institutes of Company Directors.
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Ciaran Frame is a composer and researcher based in Melbourne. His work is characterised by an innovative approach to music-making, an interest in collaboration, and a commitment to creating music that is both accessible and meaningful to a broad range of people. His work has featured around Australia and internationally, ranging from turning people into instruments to asking 10,000 people to play the kazoo. Outside his creative work, he consults as a data analyst, and is interested in how data can elevate the arts sector's impact and accessibility. Ciaran completed his honours at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and is currently undertaking a PhD at Monash University’s SensiLab.
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Internationally acclaimed percussionist and Artistic Director/CEO of Ensemble Offspring, Claire Edwardes OAM has been described by the press as a 'sorceress of percussion'. Claire won the 1999 Young Performers Award and completed her Masters degree at the Rotterdam and Amsterdam Conservatories. She is the only Australian to win four APRA Art Music Luminary Awards and is the 2023 recipient of the Australian Women in Music Creative Leadership Award for her championing of female voices in music. Recent career highlights include the world premiere of Anne Cawrse's marimba concerto written for her and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and solo performances at Bleach Festival, MONA, AFCM and with AYO's Momentum Ensemble. Claire has been with Ensemble Offspring since its foundation in 1995.
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Lamorna Nightingale is a freelance flautist, concert presenter, educator and publisher who is passionate about the future of art music in Australia. She has extensive experience working in the orchestral sector and is a core member Ensemble Offspring. Lamorna is the Artistic Director of ‘BackStage Music’, a concert series in Sydney which fosters a culture for living music. Lamorna has also created several pedagogical volumes of repertoire for young flute players through her publishing company ‘Fluteworthy’.
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Sonya Holowell is a First Nations artist composing through voice and text. Her saltwater dreaming reflects a nexus of Dharawal and Inuit ancestral ties. Improvisation is central to her project of emancipation, sovereignty and right relations. Sonya is regularly consulted on judging panels and artistic committees. She loves the outlier, and counterhegemonic creative energies. Sonya lectures in voice and contemporary Indigenous artistic practice; and is undertaking a Master of Arts in Writing and Literature, and Indigenous Research. She finds balance through Dadirri, family, and lifting heavy objects. Sonya is honoured to be joining Ensemble Offspring’s Board of Directors; an extension of a valued and pivotal artistic collaboration over many years.
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Louise Buckingham is the newly appointed CEO of the Arts Law Centre of Australia. She is a lawyer and academic who has specialised in intellectual property and human rights, working in commercial and in-house roles across the corporate and not-for-profit sectors in Sydney, London and California.
Staff
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Claire Edwardes OAM has been the sole Artistic Director of Ensemble Offspring for 7 years and previously was co-director with composer Damien Ricketson for almost 10 years. She has over 25 years experience as a professional percussionist and is acknowledged as a long-term leader in Australia's musical landscape. Having built her career on the development of innovative projects and programs, Claire has presented and produced music at many levels of the Australian and international music scenes. She is the only Australian to win the APRA Art Music Award for Excellence by an Individual three times and is a committed advocate of gender equity in music.
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Sonia de Freitas feels energised when collaborating with colleagues on innovative projects that make a positive impact on stages and in communities. She is passionate about the intersection of creativity, inclusion, education and music. Her professional journey includes roles as the Head of Education & Communities at the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Producer for Musica Viva, and voluntary service as the Chair of the Eastside Radio Board. Sonia earned her Bachelor of Music from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a Graduate Diploma in Teaching from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She was granted a scholarship to pursue studies in music at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Most recently, she completed her Master of Education (Learning & Leadership) from UTS. Sonia's interests include writing, decoding creative practice and sharing pianistic renditions of Portuguese Fado with audiences. Sonia joined Ensemble Offspring in 2024.
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Angus joined the Ensemble Offspring team in 2022 but has been involved with the organisation since participating in the 2019 Hatched Composer Intensive. Since Hatched, Angus has been selected for all of Australia’s most sought after young composer programs, including the 2022-23 Layton Fellowship and Australian Composers’s School, and has been commissioned by leading groups. In 2023, his quintet Nigel was performed by the Juventas Ensemble in the USA before representing Australia at the International Society for Contemporary Music’s World New Music Days Festival in South Africa. Read more at: angusdavison.com
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Tess Atutahi is an aspiring young composer who recently finished studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. While there, she has developed a love of writing for small and chamber ensembles while also gaining experience writing for larger ensembles and orchestral pieces. Recently, Tess started writing educational pieces after receiving a composition opportunity to compose for one of Orange Regional Conservatorium’s amateur ensembles. She is also a piano and music theory teacher in the inner west, with experience teaching the different AMEB syllabi. Tess joined Ensemble Offspring in 2023.
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Rachel Peachey joined Ensemble Offspring in 2024. She is an award winning art director and designer with 20 years experience in the creation of innovative branding, graphic design, complex websites, photography and marketing strategy for a wide array of clients including the ABC, the City of Melbourne, Lucy Guerin and Hardie Grant Publishing. She is also an accomplished visual artist whose practice reaches from large site specific audio-visual installations to delicate textile sculptures. She exhibits widely both nationally and internationally with recent residencies at Salamanca Art Centre, Tasmania, Saruya, Fujiyoshida and The Corridor Project, Wyangala. She often collaborates with her partner Paul Mosig, with their current project, New Mountain in development with support from the Blue Mountains City of the Arts to be performed at the Sydney Opera House.
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Jason Noble is one of Australia's most adaptable clarinettists, spanning the classical to experimental and improvisatory genres. A core member of Ensemble Offspring for over 20 years, Jason has performed at contemporary music festivals from Warsaw to London and throughout Australia. His album releases THRUM (2020) and Chi’s Cakewalk (2017) feature new Australian clarinet work reflecting his collaborations with established and emerging composers. As an in-demand music educator and examiner he has been invited to teach two winter academies at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul. Jason joined Ensemble Offspring as a performer in 1999 and became Hatched Academy Director in 2024.
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Kaleena Smith is a Wiradjuri/Yorta Yorta woman. She is a musician and educator having previously worked for eight years at the University of Technology, where she completed her Bachelor of Education and was Manager of the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research. Kaleena has had the privilege of working as a performer for 25 years with the Stiff Gins. And more recently is a member of the Contemporary Music Board for Create NSW. She is currently the First Nations Development Coordinator at MusicNSW where she supports First Nations artists. Kaleena became First Nations Director in 2024.
Company Plans and Reports
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Strategic Plan 2025-2028
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Commitment to First Nations Artists 2025
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Annual Report 2023
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Annual Report 2022
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Annual Report 2021