A voice, a piano, a salon setting in a private home… It could be Schubert circa 1826, but add a percussionist and fresh new sounds and it’s Summer 2026.

The heart of the program is drawn from Pascal Dusapin’s O Mensch! – a song cycle to words by Nietzsche. It’s theatrical in spirit, but in this intimate performance, Mitch Riley and Jack Symonds bring the intense emotions and compelling musical gestures home. These long-time Sydney Chamber Opera collaborators also join forces for the creation of an evocative new work, I keep your burning glances, based on a Michelangelo text, and Mitch has written the lyric for A Vision of Purple by Hatched Composer alumnus Alexander Maltas.

The Berceuse from The Exterminating Angel is no ordinary lullaby – in the words of its dedicatee, it’s lascivious, morbid and very beautiful. Vanessa Lann’s Floating Sky offers balance with a shimmering, meditative sound world. And the program is completed with music that Claire and Jack have long wanted to perform: an austerely delicate excerpt from Harrison Birtwistle’s Axe Manual – a study in rhythm and colour.

Take a front-row seat for this concert of visions, memories and music that speaks to the soul.

What can you expect from an Avant Gardens concert experience?

These social salon concerts take place in the lovely private homes of generous Ensemble Offspring supporters, so we only share the exact address with concert-goers the week of the event in our pre-concert information email. When you arrive you will be warmly welcomed by the Ensemble Offspring team. Throughout the concert you’ll learn more about the music as the musicians and composers share stories and background on the works. After the concert, we invite you to join the musicians, composers and our wonderful hosts for a chat, a glass or two of wine and a selection of delectables.