|
CLAIRE EDWARDES
PERCUSSION
| |
•
internationally renowned Australian percussionist
•
dedicated to the promotion and
performance of contemporary percussion music
ABOUT
Welcome
to the official website of Claire Edwardes.
Australian percussionist Claire Edwardes is a passionate advocate of
contemporary music, working
closely with composers from all over the world.
For several years she has been based once more in her
hometown of Sydney after seven years resident in the Netherlands. She
is known for her strong, personal musical interpretation and engaging
presentations. Press have described her performances as riveting and
enthusiastic, combining energy with great sensitivity. Career highlights include
solo performances at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival,
recording Harrison Birtwistle's The Axe Manual
with the composer, prize-winner as Duo Vertigo at the 2005
International Gaudeamus
Interpreters Competition and being named
Symphony Australia's Young
Performer of the Year (1999). Claire is the passionate
co-artistic director and percussionist of new music ensemble,
Ensemble Offspring. She is the
2005 MCA/Freedman Fellow and recipient of the 2007 AMC/APRA
award for outstanding contribution to Australian music.
photo Bridget Elliot
Looking towards 2010
I can't believe it is almost the end of the
year - it has just flown by. 2009 feels like the busiest year of my life yet,
but I seem to recall that is what I have often been accused of claiming in the
past. That said - what with Violet (who is now 16 months), Ensemble Offspring
(my 2nd baby) and loads of solo and chamber music concerts, it has been a pretty
manic year. Memorable highlights have been: Elena Kats-Chernin's Golden
Kitsch Concerto with the SYO, a solo tour to the Netherlands where I
performed with my great friend Sarah Oates (violin), Ensemble Offspring's 13 Colours
concerts (which we performed in Sydney and Melbourne) as well as Stockhausen's
Tierkreis which was featured as part of Smart Light Sydney. Other highlights feature my favourite pianist, Bernadette Balkus
- we had a rollicking Sunday Live gig at the Sydney Con, a House Music concert
which was bursting at the seams, with the wonderful Natsuko Yoshimoto on violin
and 4 performances of Kontakte (with Ensemble Offspring) - in Brisbane, Perth,
Sydney and Newcastle. Our Sydney Opera House gig was sold out!
And looking to 2010 - I will perform Golden Kitsch with the Kuringai
Philharmonic (and possibly elsewhere), I have a solo tour in Victoria with MVA
Countrywide including concerts at the Woodend Winter Arts Festival and
Ensemble Offspring opens the year with 3 performances as part of the acclaimed
Sydney Festival - we still can't believe it. All details for 2010 coming very
soon!
Ensemble Offspring & Bernadette Balkus photos
by Bridget Elliot
WHAT THE PRESS SAY
at home
“.
.amazingly voluptuous
percussion performance on multiple instruments created an astonishing effect.."
Adelaide
Festival
-
City Messenger
“…electric from start to finish.”
The Age, Melbourne
“Performs with
spellbinding intensity.”
The
Sydney Morning
Herald
“… the young and already
renowned soloist Claire Edwardes … responded with faultless self-possession and
technical brilliance.”
The
Sydney Morning
Herald
world wide
“Claire Edwardes was a fine soloist who played with
sensitivity and unusually focused concentration.”
The Washington Post
“Pianist Nicolas Hodges and percussionist Claire Edwardes'
performance of The Axe Manual had an improvisational freedom and a
funky rhythmic power…the result was an infectious immediacy that carried
through the whole piece.”
The Guardian,
London
"(She) is a rising star in the percussion world. She
plays everything cold blooded and exact but is
never clinical or routine in her approach. Add to this her positive
presentation and it is clear that she is the sort of musician who composers
would be inspired by."
NRC Handelsbad, Amsterdam
CD's
Her CDs include
-
Claire Edwardes "COIL"
Australian works for solo percussion
Harrison Birtwistle "The Axe Manual" with pianist Nicolas Hodges
Duo Vertigo "Vertigo One"
TO COMPOSERS
I
am constantly
seeking out new works for solo percussion and percussion in a chamber music
context. If you have a work which you would like to send me or are interested in
a potential collaboration, don't hesitate to get in touch with me via email.
Contact Information
You can contact Claire
directly via email claire@claireedwardes.com
|
Claire Edwardes
Percussion 