Sizzle With Ensemble Offspring

Enjoy a spectrum of music from art music to pop and a bit of everything in between at Sizzle – classical music without the formal wear. 

Presented by Ensemble Offspring, Sydney’s champions of innovative new music, Sizzle is now in it’s fifth year, and is part of The Sydney Morning Herald Spectrum Now Festival.

Sizzle was originally created to break down the divide between audiences and performers, the arty and the popular, letting audiences experience music on their terms, in spaces more traditionally linked to pop and rock music, and relaxed afternoons with friends and family.  According to co-Artistic Director Claire Edwardes “Typically our Sizzle audience covers excited toddlers, bearded hipsters, parents looking for a family outing with a twist – and sprinkled amongst them our regular Ensemble Offspring fans – it’s crazy but somehow it works a treat!” 

Sizzle kicks off with John Cage’s Musicircus, where audiences can choose their own musical adventure, wandering through performances staged around the converted warehouse of the Red Rattler. Leading avant-garde composer, writer and avid mushroom-lover, John Cage has been a major influence on music from Paul McCartney to Radiohead. Musicircus sees a number of performers in a space performing simultaneously. Cage described Musicircus saying, ‘You won’t hear anything: you’ll hear everything.’ At Sizzle, audiences will experience duo and solo performances, sometimes in surprising locations. They might be treated to a one-on-one Beauty Box performance backstage, don headphones to hear crazy keyboard tunes or have their original artworks performed live. 

Following Musicircus, audiences can grab a sausage sizzle (with options for vegan and more traditional sausage sizzle lovers) and settle into a couch for a range of musical fare. Ten electric guitars and a drummer unite for the 10 Guitar Project, bringing together some of the most well-known guitarists in Sydney’s jazz scene. Vocalist Jess Green teams up with Ensemble Offspring’s drummer Bree Van Reyk, who regularly shares the stage with artists such as Paul Kelly and Holly Throsby. 

The musicians from Ensemble Offspring, who work in musical settings as varied as the Sydney Symphony and Play School, will get together for some musical fun in Action Music, described as “…cartoon music for tomorrow, snappy fragments and synced up time slices of humour…” (RealTime Arts 2013). 

The programme:

John Cage – Musicircus/David Reaston – 10 Guitar Project/Jess Green – Construct Explode/Erik Griswold – Action Music

Performers:

10 guitar project: Jamie Cameron (drums); Claire Edwardes (percussion); Jess Green (guitar/vocals); Lamorna Nightingale (flute); Jason Noble (clarinet); Mary-Christina Rapp (double bass/vocals); David Reaston (solo guitar); Bree van Reyk (percussion/drumset); Jacob Abela (keyboard); Jodie Rottle (flute); Samuel Smith (performer); Dan Thorpe (performer).

Click here for more information. This event is free.