2023-24 Season
Iris Artist Fellows: A Lunch Break Concert
September 15, 2023 | 12-1pm
Germantown Community Theatre
Treat yourself to an afternoon of unforgettable string quartet music celebrating Czech-American composer Antonín Dvořák, his inspirations and his lasting legacy to classical music, a great lead-up for our September 30 concert!
Midori: Violin Legend
Saturday, September 30, 2023 | 7:30pm
GPAC
Michael Stern, conductor
The visionary artist who builds connections between music and the human experience and breaks with traditional boundaries, is one of the most outstanding violinists of our time and not to be missed! Featuring works by Carlos Simon: Fate Now Conquers; Antonín Dvořák: Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53; and Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, op. 92, A major. Co-presented with GPAC and proudly sponsored by Memphis Tourism.
Midori and Friends: A Chamber Concert
Sunday, October 1, 2023 | 2pm
Buckman Performing & Fine Arts Center
Featuring works by Mozart: Duo for Violin and Viola in B-flat; Schnittke: Moz-art à la Haydn for Two Violins; and Mozart: String Quintet, KV 516 in g minor.
Randall Goosby & Zhu Wang: Rising Stars
Saturday, October 28, 2023 | 7:30pm
University of Memphis | Harris Hall
Phenomenal duo Avery Fisher Career Grant winner Randall Goosby and New York Times “Best of 2021” pianist Zhu Wang return for a not-to-miss chamber concert following a one-week residency with Iris to work with young musicians and their families to share and create music together through workshops and performances. These local string students from around the city will join Randall and Zhu on the second half of the concert for a special joint performance.
This concert is sponsored by Meryl Shahun Rosen.
Thursday, December 14, 2023 | 5:30pm (doors at 5:00pm)
Cafe Noir, Medical District
Opening in 2024, equal parts bookstore, coffee shop and inviting community space, Café Noir will fill its shelves with books by Black, PoC and LGBTQ+ authors. For this special event, they’re filling your cup with music, too, as they kick off our Small Business Series with poet Olatunde Osinaike and Iris musician Cremaine Booker, aka That Cello Guy. Cremaine also serves as principal cello for Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra and Jackson Symphony Orchestra, and has played with the likes of Hans Zimmer and Jewel, among others. Olatunde is a Nigerian-American poet, essayist, and software developer. He is the author of Tender Headed, selected by Camille Rankine as winner of the 2022 National Poetry Series, in addition to the limited edition chapbooks Speech Therapy, which won the Atlas Review’s chapbook contest, and The New Knew (Thirty West). Come to this one-of-a-kind concert in the Medical District in this historic Memphis building before the doors of the bookshop are even officially open!
Cremaine Booker & Olatunde Osinaike
Small Business Series
Iris Artist Fellows: A Lunch Break Concert
Friday, February 9, 2024 | 12-1pm
Germantown Community Theatre
Love Songs Through the Ages
Treat your sweetheart to a lunchtime concert celebrating romance in its many forms as our musicians perform love songs through the ages.
Iris Collective: Musical Fusion
Small Business Series
Friday, February 9, 2024 | 7pm (doors at 6:30pm)
Music Box, Germantown
Three musicians, playing six different instruments and nearly a dozen different genres will make for an unforgettable evening for families and those not as versed in the classical roots of today’s music. More than music lessons, Music Box offers transformational experiences for aspiring musicians to help them build emotional intelligence, creativity and better communications. And for one night, their instructors join Iris musicians to present a lively evening fusing classical and popular music.
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 | 6pm
ARCH’d
Join us for a musical celebration of all things women! Iris Collective musicians—violinist Carolyn Huebl and cellist Kimberly Patterson—will delight the crowd with works of women composers in Memphis’ newest woman-owned and woman-inspired retailer, ARCH’d. Sip a glass of wine, shop unique and inspiring gifts that empower women and #seemusictransform this small business into the place to be.
Harmonizing Herstory
Small Business Series
Awadagin Pratt: Piano Prowess
Saturday, March 2, 2024 | 7:30pm
Germantown Performing Arts Center
Andrew Grams, conductor
The renowned pianist who has played from the Kennedy Center to Lincoln Center and for Presidents Clinton and Obama joins us for an unforgettable evening with the crowd-favorite and dynamic Conductor of the Year, Andrew Grams. Featuring Jessie Montgomery: Strum and the GRAMMY Award-winning Rounds; J.S. Bach: Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in A Major, BWV 1055; and Schubert: Death and the Maiden set to photography from our collaborative workshops with Bartlett High School. Co-presented with GPAC.
Awadagin Pratt: Black in America
Sunday, March 3, 2024 | 3pm
University of Memphis | Harris Hall
A Pay-What-You-Wish Experience, sponsored by AutoZone
You are never too famous to escape racism and racial profiling. The film Awadagin Pratt: Black in America reveals his climb to fame and is a candid conversation about what it is like to be a person of color in the United States. Pratt will play for the film viewing audience including J.S. Bach: Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in A Major, BWV 1055; and Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time, Mvt. VIII. A panel discussion will follow the film, presented in cooperation with the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music and the National Civil Rights Museum.
This presentation contains graphic descriptions, images and videos of violence and racism that may be distressing to some audience members.