Marilla’s work experience week at the 2025 Hatched Composer Intensive!

11 December, 2025

Marilla Gibian-Stuart, cellist and EO work experience intern

My name is Marilla Gibian-Stuart, I am a Year 10 cellist and music student who was fortunate enough to complete my work experience with Ensemble Offspring during the week of the 2025 Hatched Composer Intensive. As someone who has had the opportunity to see several performances by EO, I really took an interest in being able to see the workings of a smaller company and ensemble. The week followed a structure of various workshops and rehearsals between the composers and musicians of EO to collaborate and experiment with new sounds and techniques across the instruments. We had the opportunity to hear from Dharawal musician Sonya Holowell on First Nations artists within the classical music industry, and the role that EO initiatives such as Ngarra-Burria play in creating these opportunities through long-term collaboration and consultation. It was a really great environment in which constructive criticism was traded back and forth, and everyone was able to create an outcome they were proud of.

This was the first opportunity I’ve had to see a chamber ensemble rehearse; where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and collaborate, and everyone’s opinions are equal. It creates a very unique and beautiful sense of community, especially in the context of bringing new music to life. This kind of ensemble is epitome democracy, unlike the somewhat dictatorial nature of large orchestras. It was fascinating to hear the thoughts and motivations of the Hatched composers in the creation of their music, and how they were able to express a sentiment that you can’t put into words.

Each of the four pieces took inspiration from unique concepts, experiences, and other pieces of art. Beth Roche’s Netherlandish Proverbs musically depicts the 1559 oil painting by Pieter Brugel the Elder representing four proverbs. Beginning with “To be unable to see the sun shine on the water”, each vignette has a consistent harmonic character. Callum O’Reilly takes the mechanical, circular rhythm of a CD skipping, as well as the movement of a Buddha statue to create his Mechanical Buddha with Fluctuations. Louis Wishart’s expressions of the change in one’s perception of ‘flatness’ within a landscape, based on the writings of Henry David Thoreau and Cormac McCarthy, is titled Children of Aurora. Georgina Bowden’s Magnetic Fields is inspired by the movement of the Southern Lights, and the sensation of being unsure what you are really seeing. It was particularly fascinating to see the workshopping of Bowden’s graphic score, as every time the music was played, it was different.

My week was certainly unorthodox as far as work experience goes, but that made it all the more enjoyable. I’m incredibly grateful to EO for this opportunity, and I look forward to seeing Hatched happen again next year!

Written by Marilla Gibian-Stuart

Hatched Composer Intensive photos by Oliver Miller