Claire Edwardes

Claire Edwardes OAM is widely celebrated as Australia’s “sorceress of percussion” (City News, Canberra) and is the only artist to have won the APRA Art Music Luminary Award four times. As Artistic Director of Ensemble Offspring, Australia’s leading new music ensemble, she is a driving force in contemporary classical music, while also maintaining a vibrant international profile as a soloist and concerto performer with all major Australian symphony orchestras. In 2022 she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her contribution to music, followed by the 2023 Australian Women in Music Award for Creative Leadership. Recently described in Limelight as a “unique treasure of Australia’s musical community,” Claire has premiered hundreds of new works, championed diverse composers, and broken down barriers between art music and audiences worldwide. Her charismatic performances and advocacy for equity and inclusion make her a trailblazer on the global stage.