Stories of Water and Earth features Yuwaalaraay woman Nardi Simpson alongside a quartet of Ensemble Offspring’s genre bending instrumentalists, weaving together instrumental chamber music, long term collaboration, dreaming stories and reimagined times.
Proudly supported by Gang Gang Residencies
Sydney musical mavericks Ensemble Offspring join forces with spellbinding Yuwaalaraay woman and storyteller Nardi Simpson to weave together dreaming stories, song, instrumental chamber music, and interactive cultural learning in Stories of Water and Earth.
Composer and featured performer Nardi Simpson showcases her deadly skills as a storyteller and singer, inviting audiences to hear the language of the land, explore the beauty of singing to Country, and experience music inspired by place. Together with Ensemble Offspring’s musicians, Nardi shares Yuwaalaraay women’s creative and cultural practices, encouraging audiences to listen deeply, learn, and even participate. This immersive, hour-long journey brings together Freshwater Woman with a selection of powerful works from past Ensemble Offspring Composers in Residence, each speaking to Country, culture, and connection.
“Freshwater woman fashions the stories and sounds of Yuwaalaraay language and country into a river and invites you to float, dive or tinker at its edges. As Nardi shapes traditional stories and contemporary compositions into flowing narratives, Ensemble Offspring infuse these resonant, cultural gifts with deftness, sensitivity and skill. Freshwater Woman is a celebration of place, story and connection. Let its rivers fill you.”
Artists
Nardi Simpson (voice)
Claire Edwardes (Artistic Director, percussion)
Lamorna Nightingale (flutes)
Jason Noble (clarinet, bass clarinet)
Rowena Macneish (cello)
Repertoire
Brenda Gifford – Djana (Talk) (2020)
James Henry – The Rains (2020)
Brenda Gifford – Bardju (Footprints) (2017)
Nardi Simpson – Freshwater Woman (2023)
Duration: 60 mins
Tickets
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Eastwood's Lunch Boxes $25
- Chicken Noodle Salad with a Coconut-Lime Dressing – Grilled chicken with noodles, crisp seasonal vegetables and fresh herbs, tossed in a creamy coconut and zesty lime dressing.
OR
- Asian Rice Salad with Grilled Tofu, Crunchy Veg and a Miso Sesame Dressing (GF) – A fresh and colourful salad of brown rice, grilled tofu, edamame, crunchy vegetables and fresh herbs, tossed through a miso, sesame and ginger dressing.
Both come with the following:
- Sweet Corn and Spring Onion Savoury Slice – A light and fluffy savoury slice with sweet corn, spring onion and sour cream, baked until golden and finished with fresh herbs;
- Roasted Pumpkin, Miso & Sesame Dip with Seedy Crackers – Creamy roasted pumpkin blended with savoury miso, toasted sesame and a hint of ginger for a rich, gently nutty dip.
Eastwood's Dessert Boxes $25
- Black Sesame & Citrus Custard Tart – Black sesame and tahini pastry filled with fragrant citrus custard and topped with whipped creme fraiche;
- Butterscotch Mousse with Salted Caramel Sauce – Silky butterscotch mousse finished with a rich salted caramel sauce;
- St Clements Polenta Cake with Blueberries – Tender citrus polenta cake scented with lemon and orange and topped with blueberries;
- Chocolate and Coconut Brownie – Rich, fudgy chocolate brownie with toasted coconut, finished with a hint of sea salt.
Eastwood's Cheese & Dip Boxes $25
- Red Leicester – Smooth, nutty English cheese with mild caramel notes and a crumbly texture;
- Brie – Velvety soft-ripened cheese with delicate earthy notes and a bloomy rind;
- Creamy Whipped Blue – A smooth and creamy whipped blue cheese with a rich, mellow flavour and a light, silky finish;
- Beetroot Tzatziki – Greek yoghurt with beetroot, cucumber, garlic and lemon for a fresh, tangy finish;
- Roast Red Capsicum and White Bean Dip – Creamy white beans blended with sweet roasted red capsicum, garlic and a hint of lemon for a smooth, vibrant dip.
Meet the Artists
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Nardi Simpson
Nardi Simpson is a Yuwaalaray writer, musician, composer and educator from NSW's North West freshwater plains. A founding member of Indigenous folk duo Stiff Gins, Nardi has been performing nationally and internationally for the past twenty years. A participant of Ngarra-Burria since 2019, she writes about her experience: "Ngarra-Burria, put simply, has reinvigorated my ears, my mind and my spirit. It is not only a music program. It is a program about cultural responsibility, about singing land and story and country, and about what we Yuwaalaraay call the strengthening of dhuwi – our deepest breath, our essence – our soul."
Claire Edwardes OAM
Claire Edwardes OAM, an internationally acclaimed percussionist and Artistic Director/CEO of Ensemble Offspring, has been described by the press as a ‘sorceress of percussion’. Claire won the 1999 Young Performers Award and completed her Masters degree at the Rotterdam and Amsterdam Conservatories. She is the only Australian to win four APRA Art Music Luminary Awards and is the 2023 recipient of the Australian Women in Music Creative Leadership Award for her championing of female voices in music. Recent career highlights include the world premiere of Anne Cawrse’s marimba concerto written for her and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and solo performances at Bleach Festival, MONA, AFCM and with AYO’s Momentum Ensemble. Claire has been with Ensemble Offspring since its foundation in 1995.
Jason Noble
Jason Noble is one of Australia’s most adaptable clarinetists, spanning the classical to experimental and improvisatory genres. A core member of Ensemble Offspring for 25 years, Jason has performed with the group at contemporary music festivals from Warsaw to London and throughout Australia. His album releases THRUM (2020) and Chi’s Cakewalk (2017) feature new Australian clarinet work reflecting his collaborations with established and emerging composers. He has made guest appearances on albums for Gurrumul, Gondwana Voices, Paul Mac and the Tiwi women’s choir Ngarukuruwala. As an in-demand music educator and examiner he has been invited to teach two winter academies at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul. Jason became Ensemble Offspring’s Hatched Academy Director in 2024.
Lamorna Nightingale
Lamorna Nightingale is a freelance flautist, concert presenter, educator and publisher who is passionate about the future of art music in Australia. She has extensive experience working in the orchestral sector and has been a core member of Ensemble Offspring since 2007. Lamorna is the Artistic Director of ‘BackStage Music’, a concert series established in 2016 in Sydney, utilising unusual venues and fostering a diverse culture for living music. These roles have seen her work directly with hundreds of Australian composers at all stages of their careers and developing programs which create a space for under-represented voices to be heard. Through her publishing company Fluteworthy, she has created several pedagogical volumes of repertoire for young flute players.
Rowena Macneish
Rowena Macneish studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Susan Blake and the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne with Nelson Cooke and Michael Goldschlager. She then travelled to London on full scholarship to complete postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music with David Strange. During her time in London she was also a member of Southbank Sinfonia and performed at Covent Garden, Queen Elizabeth Hall and in festivals throughout Europe. On her return to Sydney Rowena established herself as a versatile musician and has played and toured with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.