On 1 November 2024, Ensemble Offspring returns to Canberra for a special concert featuring a selection of First Nations compositions at The Street Theatre. The performance will include works by emerging and established First Nations artists, spotlighting the creativity fostered through the Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers program, based at the ANU School of Music.

The Ngarra-Burria program (meaning to listen, to sing in the Dharug language) was founded by Dr. Christopher Sainsbury to build bridges for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians to further develop their composition skills and connect with classical and new music industries. The program supports the creation of new chamber works and gives Indigenous composers a platform to share their unique musical stories with the world as part of its mission to further mentor established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians in the writing of chamber music for concert platforms, and to connect them with the new music and classical music industries.

In 2020 Dr. Sainsbury received the APRA Art Music National Luminary Award (Individual), for his transformative work through the  program, which APRA noted has significantly impacted the Australian new music sector in just five years. The Ngarra-Burria program itself also received the prestigious International Classical Music Innovation Award in Hannover, Germany in 2022. 

Led by Claire Edwardes OAM, Ensemble Offspring continues to push the boundaries of contemporary music. The group, including Jason Noble (clarinets), Lamorna Nightingale (flutes), and Rowena Macneish (cello), is celebrated for its dedication to new music and its collaboration with First Nations artists, making this concert an extraordinary event not to be missed.

The upcoming concert features pieces from the 2024 Ngarra-Burria cohort, as well as pieces composed by members of previous cohorts such as Will Kepa, who is the operator of ANU's Yil Lull First Nations Studio and received the 2024 ACT NAIDOC Week Community Spirit Award. Brenda Gifford, who was a First Nations Resident Composer with Ensemble Offspring in 2020 and was awarded a 2022 Peggy Glanville-Hicks Residency, has also had works commissioned by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Dance Company to name just a few. Other organisations who have commissioned Ngarra-Burria alumni include The Canberra International Music Festival, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and The Canberra Symphony Orchestra.

 Program Highlights

The upcoming Ensemble Offspring concert promises an exciting showcase of compositions from the Ngarra-Burria program, featuring both emerging and established First Nations voices. Among the anticipated works are brand-new pieces from the 2024 Ngarra-Burria cohort:

• Adam Manning – Canvas (2024)
• Nicole Smede – New Work (2024)
• Gabriel Fromyhr – New Work (2024)
• Gary Wattling – Lotte (2024)

In addition to these contemporary works, the concert will also feature pieces by acclaimed First Nations composers:

• Will Kepa – Ailan Opping (2020)
• Brenda Gifford – Bardju (Footprints) (2017), Plover Bird (Spring)
• Nardi Simpson – Of Stars and Birds (2020)
• James Henry – The Rains (2020)
• Eric Avery – Gliding (2020)

These works bring together stories of culture, land, and identity, creating a profound blend of contemporary chamber music with the deep-rooted traditions of First Nations storytelling.

Event Details

Date: Friday, 1 November 2024 

Time: 7:30 PM 

Venue: The Street Theatre, Canberra 

Tickets: Available now via The Street Theatre website  

More information

First Nations Program — Ensemble Offspring

Ngarra Burria (sainsburymusic.com)

ABC Classic label album: To Listen, To Sing – Ngarra-Burria: First Peoples Composers - ABC Classic