Backdropped by abstract Paul Battams works and sudden rain, Ensemble Offspring’s penultimate performance in its Avant Gardens series welcomed in its audience in from the drizzle and into a private home in Glebe.

Complete with family photos and a personal art collection, it was obvious that we were in a space that was loved and lived in. Throughout the concert, adjustments to the house was made; awnings were drawn in, windows were closed to shield us from the sound of a harsh dripping somewhere. All were reminders that the environment was one that favoured the comfort and direct experience of its audience.

Jason Noble, Benjamin Kopp, and Claire Edwardes of Ensemble Offspring. Photo © Connor Malanos.

A Steinway grand, a vibraphone and littered percussion instruments were tucked in a corridor running alongside a pool. The program boasted a lineup made up of a majority of female and Australian composers; out of every performance I’ve reviewed so far, only Ensemble Offspring and Backstage Music (a project from EO’s flautist Lamorna Nightingale) have met this bar.

The performance opened with Paisaje Folclórico No. 2, written by Argentinian bass clarinettist Sebastián Tozzola, a...