Ensemble Offspring Will Bring Bold Sounds With 2025 Lunchbox Series Launch

Australia's trailblazing contemporary music group, Ensemble Offspring, launches Van Diemen's Band's acclaimed Lunchbox Concert Series this April with performances in both nipaluna/Hobart and Launceston.

Opening the 2025 season in the stunning surrounds of nipaluna/Hobart's Town Hall on Tuesday 15 April, and continuing at Launceston's Princess Theatre on Wednesday 16 April, Ensemble Offspring presents an exhilarating program of 21st-century music for piano and percussion. Featuring works by Missy Mazzoli, Alice Chance, Samantha Wolf and Anna Meredith, the concert explores the wild edge of contemporary classical sound.

Internationally acclaimed percussionist and Ensemble Offspring Artistic Director Claire Edwardes OAM joins forces with pioneering ‘cyborg pianist' Zubin Kanga to deliver a program that is immersive, inventive, and intensely virtuosic.

Curated by Van Diemen's Band Artistic Director Julia Fredersdorff, the 2025 Lunchbox Series showcases exceptional musical talent from across lutruwita/Tasmania and interstate. Across five concerts, audiences will experience a vibrant mix of genres, from progressive Baroque and Balkan folk to virtuosic percussion and intimate Baroque duets.

Described by the Sydney Morning Herald as delivering “visceral, joyous music”, Ensemble Offspring leads the national scene in new music performance. Since 1995, the group has premiered over 350 new works and built a reputation for championing underrepresented voices, including female-identifying, First Nations and emerging composers.

Through flagship initiatives such as the Hatched Academy, Noisy Women Commission, and First Nations Composer in Residence, Ensemble Offspring continues to shape a diverse and dynamic future for Australian music.