Ensemble Offspring: Songbirds

Experience this intimate chamber performance of Ensemble Offspring’s ABC Classic ‘Songbirds' repertory in your own backyard. Featuring an array of original chamber works by nature’s own composers – butcherbirds, blackbirds, lorikeets, frogs and flamingos – with a little help from eight Australian composers and three Ensemble Offspring instrumentalists. The familiar calls and songs of these beautiful creatures morph into surprising and beguiling chamber jewels for flute, clarinet and percussion. All of the works have been written by some of Australia’s leading composers especially for the members of Ensemble Offspring.

Hollis Taylor brings us the song of the pied butcher bird in Bitter Springs Creek 2014, while Kate Moore takes the liquid melodies of the European blackbird and intertwines alto flute, bass clarinet and vibraphone in an intricate counterpoint. Fiona Loader’s Lorikeet Corroboree is an upbeat, punchy work which weaves the crazy chatter of Australia’s rainbow lorikeets in with some older, ground-dwelling composers. Meanwhile Gerard Brophy makes flamingos dance and hummingbirds buzz in his brand new 3 movement tour-de-force Beautiful Birds. And don’t miss the return of the otherworldly sounds of Claire’s unique waterphone, live, in its natural habitat.

Program
Fiona Loader – Lorikeet Corroboree for flute, clarinet & vibraphone (2015)
Brenda Gifford – Mungala for flute & percussion (2019)
Nardi Simpson – Of Stars and Birds for flute, clarinet & vibraphone (2020)
Hollis Taylor and Jon Rose – Bitter Springs Creek 2014 for flute, bass clarinet, vibraphone & field recording (2019)
Felicity Wilcox – People of this Place for solo bass clarinet (2016)
Gerard Brophy – Beautiful Birds for flute, bass clarinet and vibraphone (2019)

Performers
Claire Edwardes (Artistic Director, vibraphone)
Lamorna Nightingale (flutes)
Jason Noble (clarinet, bass clarinet)