ELLA MACENS
Composer | Arranger | Music Educator
News & Current Projects
NEW WORK FOR OMEGA ENSEMBLE (2025)
This year I am writing a new work for Australia’s eminent Omega Ensemble. The work will premiere in Sydney on Saturday 29th November at The Neilson, ACO on the Pier, followed by a subsequent performance in Melbourne at the Melbourne Recital Center on December 2. The work is programmed alongside Nigel Westlake’s Rare Sugar and Béla Bartók’s Contrasts.
Click here for info and tickets.
NEW WORK FOR THE AUSTRALIAN HAYDN ENSEMBLE (2025)
This year I am writing a new work for the wonderful Australian Haydn Ensemble. The work will premiere in Canberra on October 30 at the National Gallery of Australia, followed by a subsequent performance in Berry on October 31, Bowral on November 1, and Sydney on November 3. The work is programmed alongside Ferdinand Ries’ Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Bochherini’s String Sextet in F major, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in F major.
Click here to see and listen.
FALLING EMBERS
A stunning performance by Claire Edwardes, recorded by Pheonix Central Park.
Click here to see and listen.
SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES 2025–26 SEASON
“Internationally renowned Wagner interpreter Simone Young returns to the San Francisco Symphony to conduct a can’t-miss symphonic synopsis of Wagner’s massive Ring cycle, featuring her own selection of orchestral excerpts. In her serenely invigorating orchestral piece The Space Between Stars, Sydney-based composer Ella Macens “wanted to convey the energy and magic of our night sky.” Set in a single searing movement, Saint-Saens’s Cello Concerto No. 1 is bursting with sonic surprises—a music-box minuet here, a sudden silence there—as well as the requisite solo pyrotechnics, taken here by the acclaimed French cellist Gautier Capuçon.”
Click here for info and tickets.
THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE NIGHT - PIANO TRIO
My piano trio The Brightest Star In The Night was commissioned by Latvian composer Peteris Vasks, with whom I share my cultural heritage. It premiered in an old castle in Latvia in mid-2022. I wrote this piece for my grandfather Janis Macens, who was 94 at the time of composing the work. Set in two movements titled Space & Time, and Eternity, this music honours the reflective nature of the later years of life, foregrounding a sense of love, gratitude, wisdom and connection.
Please enjoy this recording by Muses Trio.
4 yEARS wITH tHE TASMANIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The end of 2019 marked the conclusion of a wonderful 4-year collaboration with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, first as an opportunity through the Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s inaugural ‘Composing Women’ program, then as a participant of the TSO Australian Composers’ School.
In this time I composed four works for Symphony Orchestra titled Flight, The Space Between Stars, Melting Glaciers and Lamentation. I also composed my first ever concertino Glass Ocean which was written for Cor Anglais and Symphony Orchestra, performed by Dinah Woods. Click here to explore the process. I also had the opportunity to work with two fantastic singer-songwriters Jordan Kenny and Cotter Cypriotis, arranging and orchestrating two of their songs for performance with the TSO. Cotter Cypriotis’ captivating Come To Sleep can be heard here.
I’m so looking forward to working with this incredible orchestra again in the future. Thank you for having me!