Claire Olivia Edwardes (born 9 September 1975) is an Australian classical percussionist, artistic director, composer and advocate for change in the classical music sector.''Who's Who in Australia'' 2018, ConnectWeb. Edwardes is the co-founder and artistic director of

Ensemble Offspring Ensemble Offspring is an Australian music ensemble. The group is led by artistic director Claire Edwardes, and features some of Australia's most innovative performers. The group has toured to locations such as Hong Kong, London and Warsaw, are ...

, roles she shared with composer Damien Ricketson until his retirement from the group in 2015. In 2016, she won two APRA Art Music Awards, with one going to Ensemble Offspring for "sustained services to Australian music for 20 years", and Edwardes receiving an individual award "for performance, advocacy and artistic leadership”. She is the only Australian to have won the Luminary Art Music Award for an Individual 3 times. In 2019, Edwardes created and performed the music and dance theatre work ''RECITAL'' with dancer Richard Cilli and director Gideon Obarzanek for Dance Massive 2019. Edwardes composed the music and sound design for ''RECITAL'' in collaboration with Paul Mac. In 2011 and 2017, Edwardes was a member of the Australian World Orchestra. In 2015-2016, Edwardes was the Vice President of the New Music Network. Edwardes has appeared on television as an occasional host of Play School'','' and as a panelist on Spicks and Specks. In 2021, Edwardes created ''The Australian Marimba Composition Kit'' and a comprehensive list of percussion works by female composers. Additionally, Edwardes has composed numerous works for solo waterphone. She is currently on staff as a percussion teacher at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) — formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, and known by the moniker "The Con" — is the music school of the University of Sydney. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music ...

Early life, education and career

Edwardes was born in Sydney's

Inner West The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...

, where she now lives. She began learning piano at age 5 while living in country Victoria for several years and on returning to Sydney studied with Faye Lake throughout her life into her early 20's. Edwardes was educated at

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, New South Wales government run, Mixed-sex school, co-educational, Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective, secondary school, secondary day school, ...

and graduated as Student of the Year with a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

from

in 1997 where she studied with Daryl Pratt and Richard Miller. In 1999, Edwardes won the Symphony Australia Young Performers Award before relocating to the Netherlands to complete a master's degree at Codarts (with teachers Richard Janssen and Hans Leenders) and the

Conservatorium van Amsterdam The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...

(with teachers Peter Prommel, Jan Pustjens and ) on a Dutch Government Nuffic Huygens Scholarship. She was resident in the Netherlands for seven years during which time she won numerous instrumental competitions, toured extensively, performed with numerous ensembles including Ictus Ensemble and . Edwardes also founded her percussion groups Duo Vertigo with Niels Meliefste. During this time she also worked closely with composers including

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

Unsuk Chin Unsuk Chin ( ; born July 14, 1961) is a South Korean composer of contemporary classical music, who is based in Berlin, Germany. Chin was a self-taught pianist from a young age and studied composition at Seoul National University as well as with ...

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...

and

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...

. Returning to Sydney in 2006, Claire became co-artistic director of Ensemble Offspring the group she had been part of the inaugural concert year of as part of the Sydney Spring Festival in 1995. Claire has performed at international festivals from

MONA FOMA Mona Foma, stylised as MONA FOMA (an acronym for Museum of Old and New Art: Festival of Music and Art, often further shortened to MOFO) was an annual music and arts festival held in Tasmania, Australia, curated by Violent Femmes member Brian Ri ...

Festival (Tasmania) and (Utrecht) to

Queensland Music Festival The Queensland Music Festival (QMF) is a series of musical events staged in a number of locations in Queensland, Australia, usually around late July, every second year. It is financially supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queens ...

(Cooktown), Music on Main (Vancouver) and Shanghai New Music Week (China). Claire is endorsed by Adams Percussion and

Vic Firth Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. He was also known for his association ...

. As a soloist and artistic director of Ensemble Offspring, Claire has extensively commissioned, programmed, curated, documented and performed music by living, Australian composers - in particular female identifying and First Nations composers. Edwardes is the Australian Keychange Ambassador as well as the Donne Women in Music Ambassador.

Discography

Albums

* Reference:

Compilations and recordings with ensembles

* 2005 ''The Axe Manual'' (Nicolas Hodges) Metronome Label * 2007 ''Vertigo One'' (Duo Vertigo) Karnatic Lab Records * 2014 ''The Secret Noise'' (Ensemble Offspring) Curious Noise * 2015 ''Cycles & Circles'' (Ensemble Offspring) * 2018 ''Music for the Dreaming'' (Ensemble Offspring)

ABC Classic ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

* 2019 & 2020 ''Women of Note'' ABC Classics

* 2017 - 2021''Offspring Bites 1, 2 & 3'' (Ensemble Offspring)

Awards, nominations and fellowships

Awards and nominations

*1999 ''Winner'' - ABC Young Performers Award *2000 ''Winner'' - Tromp Percussion Competition (Utrecht) *2001 ''Winner'' - Concertgebouw Vriendenkrans Prize (Amsterdam) *2001 ''Winner'' - Llangollen International Instrumentalist (Wales) *2019 ''Finalist -'' Creative Leadership Award, Australian Women in Music Awards *2019 ''Finalist -'' Excellence in Classical Music Award, Australian Women in Music Awards *2019 ''Nominated'' - Classical Act of the Year,

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are annual Australian music awards, established by Heath Media in 2016. They were preceded by the AU Live Music Awards in the previous two years. The awards are given in categories that recognise the best ...

*2020 ''Winner'' (Ensemble Offspring) - Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award *2021 ''Finalist'' - Limelight Artist of the Year *2021 ''Nominated'' (Ensemble Offspring) Best Independent Classical Album or EP,

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hot ...

*2022 Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(OAM) * 2023 Australian Women in Music Awards - Creative Leadership Award (won)

APRA Art Music Awards

*2007 Award for Excellence by an Individual *2012 Award for Excellence by an Individual *2016 Award for Excellence by an Organisation (Ensemble Offspring) *2016 Award for Excellence by an Individual *2021 State Luminary Award (Ensemble Offspring)

Fellowships

* 2005 Freedman Fellowship, Music Council of Australia * 2014 Australia Council Music Fellowship,

Australia Council for the Arts Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announ ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwardes, Claire 1975 births Living people Classical percussionists Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni