Hatched Academy

Ensemble Offspring’s Hatched Academy is where Australia’s most exciting emerging performers and composers take flight. Over more than a decade, Hatched has nurtured a generation of trailblazing new-music leaders - bold voices shaping the sound of Australia’s musical future.

The program offers three dynamic streams:

  • Hatched Composer Intensive – Four emerging composers create new works for Ensemble Offspring, guided by renowned guest mentors, with the chance for a biennial commission prize.

  • Hatched Emerging Performer – A year-long professional opportunity for one outstanding instrumentalist to gain hands-on performing experience and mentorship within the ensemble.

  • Hatched Mentorship Program – Personalised mentorship sessions for regional and metropolitan participants with Ensemble Offspring’s core artists.

“Hatched Academy alumni are the who’s who list of successful young Australian artists, many of whom have already made a name for themselves on the international stage. Navigating your way as a young musician specialising in contemporary music is not easy, but Ensemble Offspring’s Hatched program, with its hands-on and focused approach, plays a central role in creating a formidable Australian new music scene.”

— Brett Dean, Hatched Academy Ambassador

Hatched Academy Team

  • Jason Noble

    Hatched Academy Director

  • Claire Edwardes

    CEO & Artistic Director

  • Brett Dean

    Hatched Academy Ambassador

Hatched Composer Intensive

The Hatched Composer Intensive is a transformative year-long program supporting four emerging Australian composers in the creation of a new chamber work. Guided by Ensemble Offspring’s renowned team of musicians, participants collaborate with international composer mentors, a lead mentor, Hatched Director Jason Noble, and Artistic Director Claire Edwardes. Throughout the year, composers take part in industry sessions, individual mentorship and workshopping of their new works, culminating in the Future Classics showcase concert at the Sydney Opera House.

APPLY NOW

Hatched Mentorship Program

The Hatched Mentorship Program offers emerging musicians of all disciplines the opportunity to learn directly from Ensemble Offspring’s core artists. Designed as a shorter and more flexible mentorship - and a potential pathway to the Hatched Composer Intensive - participants engage in two one-on-one sessions (in person or online) over a two-month period. The program focuses on developing skills in grant writing, budgeting, concert presentation, marketing, compositional mentoring, building lasting professional connections with Ensemble Offspring’s broad network of collaborators.

APPLY NOW

Hatched Emerging Performer

Each year, one Australian instrumentalist with a distinctive voice and a passion for new music is selected as our Hatched Emerging Performer. This flexible year-long mentorship supports the artist’s creative and professional growth under the guidance of Ensemble Offspring’s Artistic Director, Claire Edwardes, and includes artistic and career mentoring alongside professional performance opportunities with the ensemble. The performer also commissions, develops, premieres, and professionally records a new work by an Australian composer.

This program is valued at $10,000.

The 2026 Emerging Artist is trumpet player Arkie Moore.

EOIs for our 2026 season are now closed.

Watch the Hatched Academy Showreel

To get a feel for this one of a kind career-boosting program check out our most recent Hatched Academy showreel by Hospital Hill, featuring our 2024 cohort, composers Klearhos Murphy, Katia Geha, Courtney Cousins, Alex Maltas and saxophonist Alice Morgan.

Testimonials

  • Alice Morgan

    Associate Artist 2024

    “An aspect of working with Ensemble Offspring that I really loved was feeling like I was part of the ensemble. Rather than being treated as an emerging artist, I was considered part of the fabric of the ensemble. I would highly recommend applying for this program with Ensemble Offspring, it's been some of the most rewarding chamber music playing of my career so far"

  • Katia Geha

    Composer Intensive 2024

    "My favourite thing about hatched is definitely the element of collaboration, I think it's such a blessing and a joy to be able to work with musicians who are so excellent at their craft but are also so willing to work with you and create something together"

  • Ella Beard

    Mentorship Program 2024

    "My sessions with my mentors gave me a new sense of confidence that there’s a place for me in music. I’m left feeling inspired, excited, and focused"

  • Abbey Felton

    Associate Artist 2023

    “Working with Ensemble Offspring has been an invaluable learning experience. I feel so blessed to have been given the resources to bring this project to life, making music alongside inspiring musicians and a wonderful composer. I suspect that I'll look back upon this time as a pivotal part of my artistic development.”

  • Tristan Coelho

    Composer Intensive Mentor 2021-2022

    “In order for music to stay fresh and relevant, we need to embrace and support the music of young composers. Hatched Academy offers an amazing opportunity… it’s a safe space for composers to explore, take risks, experiment, but also to refine a personal voice.”

  • Sophia Mackson

    Mentorship Program 2021

    “I loved chatting to Véronique about contemporary music in Australia and my own compositions. She has such a wealth of knowledge and passion. She was supportive of all my ideas and gave the best feedback. Such an amazing musician, belonging to such a cool ensemble!”

  • Matthew Kneale

    Mentorship Program 2021

    “The Hatched Mentorship Program is a great resource. It is a safe space to share experiences and learn how to be a better musician. What better way than to pick the brains of people who have been in the industry for decades.”

  • Ben Perche

    Mentorship Program 2021

    “It was fantastic talking to Jason about his experiences in new music ensembles, and to hear his advice about starting new groups to perform modern music. I was able to think big picture about my future career in music, and Jason gave me a lot of new ideas for future projects.”

  • Will Hansen

    Associate Artist 2020-2021

    “My time as Ensemble Offspring’s Hatched Academy Associate Artist has been an invaluable next step in my musical career. I’ve gained insights into the inner machinations of a high-class new music group.”

  • Christine Pan

    Composer Intensive 2020

    “The overall Hatched experience was really amazing. Fun, but also challenging at times! That’s the point, to feel challenged and question the way you compose and create and think about music.”

  • Kate Neal

    Composer Intensive Mentor 2019

    “The Hatched Composer Intensive is fantastic and vital for the community of composers Australia-wide. It's about forming a community between composers – Sydney composers, Melbourne composers, regional composers – and also relationships with players.”

  • Henry Justo

    Henry Justo

    Hatched Associate Artist 2019

    “Getting to work alongside players who have done this for 20 years or so is really incredible. Thinking back it's been a massive year, but something that really sticks with me is having a solo curated concert as well as an ensemble concert playing staple works by Sarriaho and Romitelli.”

  • Samantha Wolf

    Composer Intensive 2018

    “The Hatched Composer Intensive has challenged me in ways that I probably wouldn't be able to challenge myself. It has broadened my horizons and introduced me to new musicians and composers whom I never would have had contact with otherwise, so for that I feel very very grateful.”

Alumni & Works

  • Hatched Associate Artist

    Alice Morgan, saxophone (NSW)
    Commissioned work: Holly Harrison – Swivel & Swerve (2024)

    Hatched Composer Intensive

    Klearhos Murphy (VIC) – EKKLESIA
    Courtney Cousins (NSW) – so let me save you
    Katia Geha (NSW) – 600 × 1000
    Alexander Maltas (NSW) – She loved being loved

    Mentor: Jack Symonds

    Hatched Academy Showreel

  • Hatched Associate Artist

    Abbey Felton, guitar (WA)
    Commissioned work: Christine Pan – Infused with Silent Voices (2023)

    Hatched Composer Intensive

    Isabella Rahme (NSW) – Return
    Noemi Liba Friedman (VIC) – Tangled Waves
    Matthew Laing (VIC) – Timepiece
    Isabella Gerometta (QLD) – Meteor Mash
    Jessica Lindsay Smith (VIC) – Supernovæ

    Mentor: Damien Ricketson

    Hatched Composer Showcase Showreel

  • Hatched Associate Artist

    Eliza Shephard, flute (VIC)

    Hatched Composer Intensive

    Lewis Mosley (NSW) – the Donkey and especially the Toad
    Ceridwen McCooey (VIC) – Arrhythmia
    Andrea Guterres (NSW) – Aion
    Sean Quinn (VIC) – a hollow heart’s temptation
    Alexander Voltz (QLD) – Operetta

    Mentor: Tristan Coelho

    Hatched Mentorship Program

    Brent Keogh (NSW), Katia Geha (NSW), Robert McIntyre (VIC), Paul Nicolaou (NSW), Julia Vlahogiannis (NSW), Rob Hao (NSW), Claire Litwinowicz (QLD), Courtney Cousins (NSW), Michelle St Anne (NSW), Tilly Jones (NSW), Ronan Apcar (ACT), Mitch Brown (NSW), Jaidyn Chong (QLD), Naomi Dodd (NSW), Isabella Rahme (NSW), Samantha Raftery (SA)

  • Hatched Associate Artist

    Will Hansen, double bass (NSW)*
    *Will Hansen held the Associate Artist position for two years due to COVID lockdowns in this period.

    Hatched Composer Intensive

    Ben Robinson (NSW) – Eat Your Damn Vegetables
    Gabrielle Cadenhead (NSW) – We Demand Our Equal Rights
    Julia Potter (NSW) – My Heart Skips a Beat
    Azariah Felton (WA) – palpitate
    Cayn Borthwick (VIC) – Deep Water, Breaking Wave
    William Gardiner (NSW) – Ruby C

    Mentor: Tristan Coelho

    Hatched Mentorship Program

    Ceridwen McCooey (VIC), Matthew Kneale (VIC), Michael Grebla (WA/USA), Sean Quinn (VIC), Sophia Mackson (QLD), Wesley Stormer (NSW), Bianca Gannon (QLD), Alexei Caulfield (NSW), Bryn Wood (NSW), Chloe Chung (NSW), Kayla Ludlow (NSW), Mikaela Thomsen (QLD)

  • Hatched Associate Artist

    Will Hansen, double bass (NSW)*
    *    Will Hansen held the Associate Artist position for two years due to COVID lockdowns in this period.

    Hatched Composer Intensive

    Christine Pan (NSW) – The May Queen
    Rhys Little (NSW) – Five Kinds of Seeing
    Connor D’Netto (QLD) – Largely Motivated
    Andrew Chen (VIC) – Lip
    James Hazel (NSW) – Entangled Labours
    Monica Lim (VIC) – Disensemble

    Mentor: Kate Neal

    Hatched Mentorship Program

    Eduardo Ruiz (VIC), Liam Wooding (VIC), Nick Ashwood (NSW), Phoebe Bognàr (NSW), Katherine Howarth (NSW), Nadia Burgess (NSW), Gabrielle Cadenhead (NSW), Lily Bryant (ACT), Christopher Healey (VIC), Anna Rabinowicz (VIC), Liam Mulligan (NSW), Marlene Radice (ACT), Robert McIntyre (VIC), Ellie Harrison (QLD), Abigail Sutherland (SA), Tim Newhouse (WA)

  • Hatched Associate Artist

    Henry Justo, viola (VIC)

    Hatched Composer Intensive

    Lisa Cheney (VIC) - The Secrets of Shadows
    Thomas Misson (VIC/TAS) - Adieu
    Sarah Elise Thompson (NSW) - Striking Out
    Lewis Ingham (VIC) - Jovian Glimpses
    Angus Davison (NSW/TAS) - Warhol in The Tenderloin
    Dr Steve Barry (NSW) - Microsonata

    Mentor: Ken Thompson (USA), Kate Neal (AUS)

  • Hatched Associate Artist

    Georgina Oakes, clarinet (NSW)

    Hatched Composer Intensive

    Solomon Frank (NSW)
    Kirsten Milenko (NSW/NL)
    Joseph O’Connor (NSW)
    Jakob Bragg (VIC)
    Josten Myburgh (WA)
    Samantha Wolf (VIC)

    Mentors: Matthew Shlomowitz, Cathy Milliken & Amanda Cole

  • Hatched Associate Artist

    Kieran Welch, viola (QLD)
    Luke Carbon, clarinet (VIC)

    Hatched Composer Intensive

    Ciaran Frame (NSW)
    Jasmin Leung (QLD)

    Mentors: Cathy Milliken & Jessica Aszodi

  • Hatched Associate Artist

    Mary Rapp, cello (NSW)
    Julia Reidy, guitar (NSW)
    David Moran, cello (SA)

    Hatched Composer Intensive

    Julia Reidy (NSW)
    James Bradbury (WA)

  • Hatched Associate Artist

    Jodie Rottle, flute (QLD)
    Jacob Abela, piano (VIC)

    Hatched Composer Intensive

    Dan Thorpe (SA)
    Samuel Smith (VIC)

  • Hatched Associate Artist

    Callum G’Froerer, trumpet (NSW)
    Jeremy Rose, saxophone (NSW)

    Hatched Composer Intensive

    Jeremy Rose (NSW)