Feature
IRIS Orchestra - A Unique Family of Musicians
By Susan C. Nieman
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this season, the IRIS Orchestra has established itself as one of the most successful musical groups in the United States. Performing in Memphis five or six times a year, IRIS has received unanimous public and critical acclaim.
“The IRIS Orchestra is a who’s who of soloists that can rival any orchestra in the country,” said Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Michael Stern. Stern founded IRIS in 2000 at the invitation of Albert Pertalion, former executive director of Germantown Performing Arts Centre (GPAC).
It is with Michael Stern’s energy, commitment and ability to attract and assemble a pool of 80+ world-class musicians from all walks of life, from across the United States and beyond, and by its combination of varied programming and exciting performances that IRIS has been embraced by its audience and the community.
Little did Stern realize that on his first visit to Memphis and GPAC, that the city would become like a second home. “I came to perform, by invitation of my long-time friend, Yo-Yo Ma, with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra,” said Stern. “Albert, whom I’d never met before, picked me up at the airport and said ‘You should start an orchestra in Memphis.’ I said, ‘Do you know what that would take?’”
Pertalion stressed his desire to offer high-quality concert music to his Southern community. He also envisioned a youth string program – still strong at GPAC today. “He finally wore me down,” said Stern. “I told him if he could raise the money, I would do it.” The Germantown Board of Alderman turned them down the first time. It was Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy who took a leap of faith.
“I was in Germany when Albert called that he got the money,” said Stern. “IRIS became the first municipally funded orchestra in the United States.” Since then, IRIS has established its own non-profit 501(c)3, developed its board of directors and remains GPAC’s resident orchestra.
During the past 10 years, the orchestra has built a support system and grown as a family. Many, including Stern, have even stayed with the same host families year after year. IRIS musicians are a unique group of chamber orchestra members, faculty and students with varied experience but with a level of excellence and aptitude unlike any other orchestra. During each piece you may often see the musicians switch chairs. “We have formed a cohesive bond and love playing together,” said Stern.
Under Stern’s direction, IRIS has been heralded for the brilliance of its playing, its varied programming with special emphasis on American contemporary music. A central part of its mission is a deep commitment to furthering American composers. From its inception, IRIS has been dedicated to carrying music from the concert hall into the community through masterclasses at the University of Memphis, as well as formal and informal programs at high schools and after-school programs throughout the area.
The 2009-10 season also marks Stern’s fifth as Music Director of the Kansas City Symphony. In 2000 Stern concluded his tenure as the first American chief conductor of Germany’s Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 1991, he was appointed permanent guest conductor of the Orchestre National de Lyon in France, a position he held for four years. He has also appeared around the globe with the national orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, Russia, Tokyo, China, and Israel.
Stern received his degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. His studies have included two summers at the Pierre Monteux Memorial School in Hancock, Maine. Born in 1959, Michael Stern is a graduate of Harvard University, where he earned a degree in American History. He makes his home in Kansas City and in New York with his wife, Shelly Cryer, and their two daughters Hannon and Nora.
In 2000 the IRIS Orchestra began its first performance with renowned classical musician Yo-Yo Ma. It is fitting that it will kick off the 2010-11 Anniversary Season with a return performance on October 1, 2010 at the Cannon Center in downtown Memphis.
IRIS’s unique structure gives Stern an opportunity to “make every concert an event,” he said. “There may be someone in the audience who could be hearing a concert for the first time or their 100th. Our approach is free form, more like a festival. We like to take the audience for a ride.”
To read the complete press release announcing the IRIS Orchestra 2010-11 Anniversary Season Schedule, click here.
Visit The IRIS Orchestra online at
www.irisorchestra.com
