Omega Ensemble Howl arrives in Sydney, Oberon and Sutherland this May, blending electronics and chamber music in a bold program of premieres and contemporary voices.
In the moments before a chamber performance begins, there is often a peculiar stillness – the gentle shifting of programs, the clearing of a throat, the low hum of a room settling into attention. Yet the music itself rarely exists in that quiet. It draws from the world outside: its anxieties, its pace, its restless energy.
Omega Ensemble’s upcoming program, Howl, embraces that restless spirit. Presented across three venues in New South Wales this May, the tour gathers a group of contemporary composers whose work doesn’t shy away from friction. Instead, it leans into it – the tension between electronics and acoustic instruments, between ritual and release, between noise and clarity.
For audiences in Sydney, Oberon and Sutherland, the performances promise something less like a recital and more like a landscape of sound – one that mirrors the modern world’s constant stream of signals, interruptions and fleeting moments of stillness.
Omega Ensemble Howl And The Contemporary Pulse
At the centre of the Omega Ensemble Howl program is the ensemble itself – one of Australia’s most agile chamber groups, known for threading together classical traditions with adventurous new music.
Led by artistic director David Rowden, the ensemble has built a reputation for exploring contemporary repertoire without losing the intimacy that chamber music allows. Their concerts tend to feel close – not only physically, but emotionally – as if the audience has stepped inside the music rather than simply observing it.
In Howl, that intimacy expands outward. The program draws together five distinctive voices in contemporary composition: Missy Mazzoli, Anna Meredith, Pierre Jalbert, Danny Elfman and Daniel Wohl. Each approaches sound differently – some through electronics, others through rhythmic intensity or cinematic textures – yet together they form a program shaped by contrast.
Rowden describes the music as “full voltage,” and the description feels apt. These are works that move, pulse and push against traditional boundaries.
Electronics, Interference And A World Premiere
Perhaps the most intriguing element of the tour is the world premiere by French electro-acoustic composer Daniel Wohl.
Born in Paris and now based in Los Angeles, Wohl has built a career exploring the meeting point between acoustic instruments and electronic soundscapes. His works have appeared in spaces ranging from concert halls to museums and film scores, often blurring the line between performance and immersive environment.
For Howl, Wohl presents a new piece for string quartet and electronics titled Interference Pattern. The work reflects on a modern reality most listeners know well – the endless flow of information that surrounds daily life.
In describing the composition, Wohl notes the difficulty of experiencing a moment in isolation when messages, signals and digital noise constantly intrude. The music responds to that idea directly, layering electronic textures with the physical resonance of strings.
The result is expected to feel less like a simple overlay of technology and instruments, and more like a three-dimensional field of sound where both interact and collide.
A Program Of Defiance And Energy
Beyond the premiere, the Omega Ensemble Howl program moves through a series of striking contrasts.
Missy Mazzoli’s Tooth and Nail opens the concert with a raw, almost folk-like intensity. Written for solo violin and live electronics, the piece draws inspiration from the metallic twang of the jaw harp, creating a sound that feels ancient and experimental at once.
Scottish composer Anna Meredith’s Tuggemo follows with something entirely different – a work often described as part string quartet, part rave. Rhythmic and propulsive, it builds momentum in waves, its patterns gradually transforming into something closer to a pulse than a melody.
Pierre Jalbert’s Howl, receiving its Australian premiere, lends the program its title. Built around a commanding clarinet line, the work unfolds like a ritual incantation, moving between lyrical reflection and sudden bursts of energy.
And then there is Danny Elfman’s Piano Quartet – a rare concert work from the composer better known for shaping the dark, fantastical sound worlds of Tim Burton’s films. In this chamber setting, traces of that cinematic imagination remain: mischievous rhythms, flashes of humour, and moments of dramatic tension.
Together, the pieces form something less like a traditional program and more like a journey through different sonic terrains.
Omega Ensemble Howl Across Three Regional Stages
One of the distinctive aspects of Omega Ensemble Howl is its movement beyond the metropolitan concert hall.
The tour unfolds across three locations – Sydney, Oberon and Sutherland – bringing contemporary chamber music into varied spaces and communities.
At ACO On The Pier in Sydney’s Dawes Point, the harbour’s quiet presence sits just outside the performance room, a reminder of the city’s shifting rhythms. Further west in Oberon, the Malachi Gilmore Hall offers a more intimate regional setting, where the music resonates differently within the smaller venue. The tour concludes at The Pavilion Performing Arts Centre in Sutherland, where modern acoustics and a spacious auditorium frame the program’s final performance.
The venues themselves become part of the narrative. Each shapes the way the music travels through the room, how the electronics merge with the strings, and how the audience experiences the unfolding sound.
Event Details
Omega Ensemble – Howl
Dates & Venues
- ACO On The Pier, Dawes Point (Sydney)
Saturday 2 May – 2:00pm
Saturday 2 May – 7:00pm - Malachi Gilmore Hall, Oberon
Sunday 3 May – 3:00pm - The Pavilion Performing Arts Centre, Sutherland
Wednesday 6 May – 7:00pm
Official Website: https://www.omegaensemble.com.au/howl