With 13 world premieres, five Australian premieres and two celebrations ready to roll, Ensemble Offspring (EO) has announced it 2026 season. Inspired by the four elements, EO promises a “new era of bold sounds”, with seven programs and performances scheduled for venues in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra.

EO’s trademark Avant Gardens, which delivers intimate, salon-style performances in private homes, is back in 2026 with three seasonal titles.

Ensemble Offspring’s Claire Edwardes. Photo supplied

Kicking off in Glebe in Sydney before  dates in Melbourne, the Summer program (28 February – 5 March) features trio vocalist Mitch Riley, percussionist and Artistic Director Claire Edwardes and pianist Jack Symonds, whose work I keep your burning glances has its world premiere on the program.

Other new works include 2024 Hatched Academy participant Alexander Maltas’ A Vision of Purple and American-Dutch composer Vanessa Lann’s Floating Sky, which will be performed alongside selections from Thomas Adès, Pascal Dusapin and Harrison Birtwistle.

Symonds airs another world premiere in EO’s Autumn edition in Woollahra and Hurlstone Park (9–10 May). Flautist Lamorna Nightingale, bassist Benjamin Ward and percussionist Niki Johnson perform Oliveros, Saariaho, Gubaidulina, Braxton, Jane Stanley and an excerpt from Johnson’s own Shimmer Suite, a tribute to her mother.

In Spring (dates in inner west Tempe and Alexandria, then in Brisbane), EO introduces its new Hatched Emerging Performer – trumpeter Arkie Moore. Alongside Edwardes and clarinettist Jason Noble, Moore performs brand new works by Nardi Simpson, Jane Stanley, Helen Grime, Andrew Classen and Remy Le Boeuf.

Ensemble Offspring. Photo supplied

EO’s The Oracle is chock full of Australian premieres: Kate Moore’s Rose of roses, flower of flowers (which EO delivered in New York in May) and Percussion Concerto; Tansy Davies’ Lost Science; and Thomas Broström’s Dream Variations. With an expanded ensemble, the new music group brings the program to Sydney and Canberra from 3–5 June.

Next, conductor Sam Weller takes the podium for REICH: REJOICE: REPEAT, a program celebrating legendary minimalist composer Steve Reich’s 90th birthday with a collection of his works – from his revolutionary 1966 tape experiment Come Out to 2012’s Radio Rewrite, in which he draws harmonic inspiration from art-rock titans Radiohead. The program plays in Sydney and Canberra on 12–13 September.

The Ngarra-Burria: First Nations Composers program also marks its 10th anniversary in 2026 — and to celebrate, EO is throwing a gala. Featuring a brand-new work from First Nations Composer in Residence Mark Munk Ross and a “best of” collection of works by participating composers across its history, EO showcases a decade of music with “clarity, flair and heart”.

EO wraps up with Future Classics at the Sydney Opera House’s Utzon Room on 22 November. It will feature the world premiere of works by its 2026 Hatched Composer cohort, as well as repeat performances of new pieces by Nardi Simpson and Remy Le Boeuf.

More about Ensemble Offspring’s 2026 season can be found here.