Claire Olivia Edwardes OAM (born 9 September 1975) is an Australian classical percussionist, artistic director, composer and advocate for change in the classical music sector.^[1] Edwardes is the co-founder and artistic director of Ensemble Offspring, roles she shared with composer Damien Ricketson until his retirement from the group in 2015.^[2] In 2016, she won two APRA Art Music Awards, with one going to Ensemble Offspring for "sustained services to Australian music for 20 years", and Edwardes receiving an individual award "for performance, advocacy and artistic leadership”.^[3] She is the only Australian to have won the Luminary Art Music Award for an Individual 3 times. In 2019, Edwardes created and performed the music and dance theatre work RECITAL with dancer Richard Cilli and director Gideon Obarzanek for Dance Massive 2019. Edwardes composed the music and sound design for RECITAL in collaboration with Paul Mac.^[4] In 2011 and 2017, Edwardes was a member of the Australian World Orchestra.^[5] In 2015-216, Edwardes was the Vice President of the New Music Network.^[6] Edwardes has appeared on television as an occasional host of Play School,^[7] and as a panelist on Spicks and Specks.^[8] In 2021, Edwardes created The Australian Marimba Composition Kit^[9] and a comprehensive list of percussion works by female composers.^[10] Additionally, Edwardes has composed numerous works for solo waterphone.^[11] She is currently on staff as a percussion teacher at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.^[12]

Edwardes was born in Sydney's Inner West, where she now lives. She began learning piano at age 5 while living in country Victoria for several years and on returning to Sydney studied with Faye Lake throughout her life into her early 20's.^[13] Edwardes was educated at Fort Street High School and graduated as Student of the Year with a Bachelor of Music from Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 1997 where she studied with Daryl Pratt and Richard Miller.^[5] In 1999, Edwardes won the Symphony Australia Young Performers Award before relocating to the Netherlands to complete a master's degree at Codarts (with teachers Richard Janssen and Hans Leenders) and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (with teachers Peter Prommel, Jan Pustjens and Nick Woud [nl]) on a Dutch Government Nuffic Huygens Scholarship.^[14] She was resident in the Netherlands for seven years during which time she won numerous instrumental competitions, toured extensively, performed with numerous ensembles including Ictus Ensemble and Slagwerk Den Haag [nl]. Edwardes also founded her percussion groups Duo Vertigo with Niels Meliefste.^[13] During this time she also worked closely with composers including Louis Andriessen, Unsuk Chin, Harrison Birtwistle and Steve Reich.^[15]

Returning to Sydney in 2006,^[16] Claire became co-artistic director of Ensemble Offspring the group she had been part of the inaugural concert year of as part of the Sydney Spring Festival in 1995.^[17] Claire has performed at international festivals from MONA FOMA Festival (Tasmania) and Gaudeamus International Music Week [nl] (Utrecht) to Queensland Music Festival (Cooktown), Music on Main (Vancouver) and Shanghai New Music Week (China). Claire is endorsed by Adams Percussion^[18] and Vic Firth.^[19]

As a soloist and artistic director of Ensemble Offspring, Claire has extensively commissioned, programmed, curated, documented and performed music by living, Australian composers - in particular female identifying and First Nations composers.^[20]

Edwardes is the Australian Keychange Ambassador as well as the Donne Women in Music Ambassador.^[21]