Billed as a “global expedition of inventive, sculptural and sizzling sounds”, Ensemble Offspring’s Kontiki Racket will take over Sydney’s Nest Creative Space in the second weekend of November, for a vibrant mini-festival of new music. “Everyone knows those famous Contiki world tours – well this is like a musical world tour of sound,” Ensemble Offspring’s Artistic Director Claire Edwardes told Limelight. “Similarly crazy and fun, with lots of music, new experiences and even a new environment in which to experience it all.”

The festival – which includes three concerts and two industry discussions – will feature the premiere of five new works and the return of Ensemble Offspring’s international-composer-in-residence at the Hatched Academy: Juan Felipe Waller, whose 2014 Ensemble Offspring commission, Detone Retune, will be restaged during the event.

Ensemble Offspring, photo © Heidrun Lohr

For Edwardes, the highlight will be the sheer number of world premieres. “I can’t wait to hear every single one of them,” she said. “There is something so special about performing a piece for the very first time, which you have worked on directly with the composer, sculpting, honing and developing over a period of time. And...