In May, Ensemble Offspring is jetting off to New York to perform at Bang on a Can’s Long Play festival. It’s a shining achievement marking the pioneering ensemble’s 30th anniversary, and Artistic Director Claire Edwardes can’t wait – even though she will have to cart her heavy woodblocks with her.

“My Xenakis woodblocks are just solid pieces of wood. Five of them together weigh an absolute tonne!” she says. “I hire everything else over there, but my woodblocks are very personal, so I think it’s important I don’t leave them behind.”

Long Play’s 2025 program is packed with contemporary music luminaries, including Max Richter, Caroline Shaw, Nico Muhly and the Bang on a Can All-Stars in a 90th-birthday tribute to American composer Terry Riley. EO proudly ranks amongst them, presenting music by Kate Moore on 3 May and a Iannis Xenakis showcase on 4 May. The Moore program is marked as a ‘featured concert’, which Edwardes says is “heartening to see”.

Claire Edwardes performing in Ensemble Offspring’s ‘Mesmerism’ concert. Image © Photo Prudence Upton

EO’s relationship with Bang on a Can goes back to 2012, when the...