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Episode 29: Claire Edwardes OAM - Percussion virtuoso and artistic director of Ensemble Offspring on leading a thriving arts organisation
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In this episode, Sam speaks with Claire Edwardes OAM, percussionist and artistic director of Ensemble Offspring, about:
- Claire's journey with Ensemble Offspring from its student beginnings to becoming a leading new music organisation
- The challenges and rewards of running a small arts organisation, including managing staff and juggling multiple projects
- Ensemble Offspring's focus on championing new music, female composers, and First Nations artists
- The difficulties of marketing and touring new music compared to traditional classical repertoire
- Claire's role in advocating for gender equity in classical music programming through initiatives like Keychange
- Her thoughts on the potential for innovation in orchestras post-COVID and why change has been limited
- The importance of long-term, meaningful collaborations with First Nations artists rather than tokenistic programming
- Balancing artistic goals with the practical realities of funding and audience development
- Claire's approach to cultural leadership and using music as a vehicle for social change
Key quotes:
"I love my role as an artistic director...because it gives me that flexibility and freedom in my life."
"If you don't have that consciousness [about diversity], then nothing will ever change."
"It's not flash in the pan programming...It's like you get to know [artists] over a period of years. You work with them...and you commit to that, like, for a lifetime."
"We can keep pushing the envelope a bit without being kind of, you know, yucky about it, but just doing things that make people think about why and what and also just have fun."
Links
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Presenter and research: Sam Cairnduff
Creative Director: Niloofar Pashmforoosh
Presented in association with Limelight
Decoding Cultural Leadership |
Culture. Society. Conversations
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