Now in its third year, Ensemble Offspring’s Avant Gardens series takes musicians, their music and their audiences out of the recital hall and into the backyards and gardens of suburban homes.

“I’ve done a couple of these now and the thing I’ve noticed most is how much more relaxed people seem,” Ensemble Offspring flautist Lamorna Nightingale tells Limelight. “There’s more of a a party atmosphere around the music making.”

Nightingale will be opening up her own back garden for the first program in the 2023 Avant Gardens series, playing alongside percussionist Claire Edwardes (Ensemble Offspring’s Artistic Director) and soprano Jane Sheldon in an eclectic concert in which the works of international giants such as Tōru Takemitsu, George Crumb and Jacob Druckman rubs shoulders with music by locals Brenda Gifford and Courtney Cousins.

The second program, which takes place in Glebe and Woollahra and features clarinet, percussion and piano, offers works with with jazz and folk influences including a world premiere of a new piece by Melbourne’s Joe Chindamo. On the menu are Karen Tanaka’s Techno Etudes, Chick Corea’s Children’s Songs, Alice Chance’s Mirroring and works by Ensemble Offspring’s Noisy Women Commission composers Samantha Wolf and Nicole Murphy.