AVANT GARDENS SUMMER
A voice, a piano, an intimate salon setting in a private home… It could be Schubert, but add a percussionist and it’s Summer, Offspring style, in the Avant Gardens.
DETAILS
Saturday 28 February 4Pm, Glebe, SYDNEYSunday 1 March 4pm, Glebe, SYDNEYTHURSDAY 5 MARCH 8PM, MELBOURNE
PROGRAM
THOMAS ADÈS Berceuse from The Exterminating Angel (1982)
PASCAL DUSAPIN Selected songs from O Mensch! (2009)
ALEXANDER MALTAS A Vision of Purple*† (2026)
VANESSA LANN Floating Sky*† (2023)
HARRISON BIRTWISTLE Excerpt from The Axe Manual (2001)
JACK SYMONDS I keep your burning glances*† (2026)
* World Premiere
† Ensemble Offspring Commission
Concert Duration: 70 minutes followed by complimentary drinks and canapes
PERFORMERS
Mitch Riley (voice)
Jack Symonds (piano)
Claire Edwardes (Artistic Director, percussion)
DESCRIPTION
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.
“... beautifully intimate house concert… accompanied by friends catching up, and discussions of the delightfully eclectic program.”
“Symonds maintained unshakeable musical concentration, controlling the sound and rhythmic flow to measure out Dusapin’s quiet intense lyricism.”
“Riley’s voice has commanding resonance when needed but can also create wisps of whimsical falsetto, dark whispers and many shades between.”
“There is no doubt Ensemble Offspring’s audience are now eagerly awaiting the next iteration of Avant Gardens.”
DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAM
Accessibility Information
The Avant Gardens concerts take place in the private homes of some of Ensemble Offspring’s generous supporters. Some homes may have steps, limiting wheelchair access, but ambulant or mobility-restricted attendees can enter with extra time and assistance. If you have accessibility requirements, please reach out to the friendly Ensemble Offspring team by emailing admin@ensembleoffspring.com.
SUPPORTED BY
Ensemble Offspring is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
Thank you to our Avant Gardens hosts for their generous support of Ensemble Offspring.
Photo: Mitch Riley by Keith Saunders
