We’re excited to announce our 2027 Hatched Emerging Performer, Sola Hughes!
3 November, 2025
Ensemble Offspring’s 2027 Hatched Emerging Performer, violinist Sola Hughes
Sola Hughes is a violinist, passionate about ecology, community and music as a means to inspire optimistic action. She has trained mostly in western classical music, most recently at ANAM, and was an academist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in 2026. Sola is always seeking interesting sounds, which is why she loves improvisation and experimental music. This year, she is a fellow with Dots+Loops and has enjoyed taking part in improvisation workshops with the Australian Art Orchestra and Tone List in the past couple years.
We interviewed Sola about her musical background, interests, being chosen as the Hatched Emerging Performer and her plans for next year with Ensemble Offspring.
Sola Hughes by Maria Zhdanovich.
As our Hatched Emerging Performer, Sola will be performing with us in several of our 2027 concerts! Come and see her and the ensemble at Pure Bliss in April and Future Classics in December, both at ACO On The Pier.
Why are you excited about being Ensemble Offspring’s 2027 Hatched Emerging Performer?
So many things! I’m really excited about the repertoire, especially Ben Nobuto’s SERENITY 2.0, I’ve never played anything like that. I’m also looking forward to working with Véronique Serret because I love her compositions, playing and singing. It’s going to be really fun to work with the Ensemble Offspring members, I know they’re passionate about new music and I can’t wait to be in that energy. I am wanting to become better at creating my musical projects and I have lots of ideas in terms of music making related to environmental action and community building, so I will definitely be making use of Claire’s mentorship for that!
Photo of Sola Hughes by Courtenay Cleary
What first drew you to the violin? How old were you when you started playing and what made you stick with it?
I apparently started begging to play violin when I was 2, and people thought I’d grow out of it but I didn’t! So I ended up starting when I was 7. My first memory of why I wanted to play violin is pretty superficial, I thought the instrument looked very pretty but I think there was a spiritual connection too. I stuck with it because I loved playing melodies and it helped me emotionally process things as I grew up. There have been a few times I wanted to give up but I really do love it and that love is growing the longer I play.
What inspires you as a musician?
I love interesting sounds. It feels extremely satisfying to hear something with texture and grit or something that feels raw and like it’s coming from the middle of a person.
I feel very inspired when someone is being vulnerable, I don’t mind if there are mistakes.
I also feel inspired by people who care about the world and have a sense of realistic optimism. And peaceful people, I think that’s so powerful. I would like my music making process to somehow embody those traits going into the future.
Another thing that inspires me is nature, it’s extremely creative.
You perform in both classical and experimental concerts. What draws you to new and experimental music as well as improvisation, and how does it inform your classical practice?
I love that it’s music that is created about the world that we live in. I think it’s important for me as a musician to try to reflect what is happening now and what that means for us. Art can be a great way to understand ourselves and the circumstances around us. I think if we can do that, it’s possible to change in a positive way.
I love to improvise because I get to negotiate with other people in a way that changes me. I love the interesting sounds that come from it, it engages every part of my being, which heals me. I could be spiralling, but if I improvise with other people for a few days, I notice that my own vanity or vices aren’t nearly as interesting as the sounds we create together when we improvise! It’s life giving and my favourite thing.
I love western classical music too, especially playing in orchestras. I often feel like crying in that context because the music is so beautiful and it’s overwhelmingly fun to play. But what I keep thinking about is how as institutions, they seem to tend to be apolitical from what I can see. I think my personality struggles with that. I feel that music can be powerful not only in and of itself but also as a cultural driver and community builder. It feels almost like discounting its potential to not explore how it can be connected with what’s going on now. I think making experimental and improvised music has given me a sense of agency to approach the process of making music in my own way, which I’m still figuring out.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I am not too sure, but I hope I can be in a position where I can invite other people to play music. I know it’s hard as a young person trying to find places to play new music, so I’d like to extend a hand to younger people in the future. I also hope I’m in touch with nature and that I can care for the earth. I hope I cultivate peace so that I can be a decent person, that always seems to help!
What are you looking forward to in 2027?
I want to educate myself a lot. I want to know as much as possible about how things work so that I can make informed decisions. I want to especially learn as much as possible about the role art can play in climate action and strengthening community.
I’m looking forward to improvising with lots of people and continuing pre-existing improv projects with my friends.
I’m excited for the commission by Tristan Coelho - so far we chatted about the fact that part of the composition process would involve us improvising together too - which sounds fun!
It will be great to play lots of new music with Ensemble Offspring. I went to the Ensemble Offspring Avant Gardens concert in Brisbane and I was struck by how friendly everyone was and how the event created a welcoming feeling for the audience. I'm keen to be a part of this community!
