We are very excited to announce the newest member of the Iris Trio! Please join us in welcoming the brilliant violist/violinist Zoë Martin-Doike. In addition to her role as violist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Zoë is an accomplished chamber musician, having shared the stage with many of the world’s leading artists. We recently completed two residencies together and it was immediately apparent that we have found a wonderful new partner, both artistically and personally. We are looking forward to this new chapter in the trio’s life and all that is to come.
As this chapter begins, we are also closing a special chapter with our long-time violist and friend Molly Carr. We formed the trio with Molly in New York City back in 2013 and it’s been an amazing run. We are grateful to Molly for sharing her immense artistry with this ensemble over the years. We will be cheering her on as she begins her exciting role as the new violist of the Juilliard String Quartet.
Praised for their “beauty of sound and striking expression” (Bremen Weser Kurier), the Iris Trio (clarinetist Christine Carter, violist Zoë Martin-Doike, and pianist Anna Petrova) is known for their imaginative programming and powerhouse performances.
Violinist/violist Zoë Martin-Doike is an exciting and versatile artist who engages in a wide variety of musical activities. A passionate chamber musician, Zoë was a founding violinist of the Aizuri Quartet which garnered top prizes at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition and held residencies at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia while she was a member. She has also received top prizes at the Primrose International Viola Competition and the Lennox International Young Artist Competition on viola and violin, respectively, and most recently won the 2019 Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra Competition, earning a solo appearance with the group in the following season. Zoë has attended the Steans Institute at Ravinia as well as the Sarasota, Norfolk, Taos and Marlboro Music Festivals. She did her undergraduate studies with renowned violinist, Pamela Frank at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she served as concertmaster for the 2011-12 season, and her master’s degree at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where she double-majored in violin and viola under the tutelage of Mimi Zweig and Atar Arad respectively. She was the violist of the quartet selected for the coveted Kuttner Quartet Fellowship and had the opportunity to perform both the Walton Viola Concerto and the Brahms Violin Concerto with university orchestras during her time at IU.
Zoë is currently acting assistant principal viola of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and has also frequently joined the Philadelphia Orchestra for tours of Europe and Asia.
Canadian Clarinetist Christine Carter has performed at venues across the globe, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. She is the clarinetist of the critically acclaimed Iris Trio and Dark by Five inter-arts ensemble, and regularly collaborates with Duo Concertante, with whom she has released two albums on Marquis Classics. Her performances have been praised for their “striking expression” (Bremen Wester Kurier), “seductive tone and effortless fluidity” (The Clarinet), and “golden legato” (Fanfare Magazine), and her debut recording with the Iris Trio was featured by CBC as a top ten classical release. She has also performed extensively as an orchestral musician, including engagements with the New World Symphony, Montréal Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and under the batons of some of the world’s finest conductors, such as Lorin Maazel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kent Nagano, and Fabio Luisi.
As a clarinetist, chamber musician, and animateur, Christine is drawn to interdisciplinary and genre-defying projects that illuminate the role of artists and the arts in addressing humanity’s pressing challenges. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from Manhattan School of Music and is Associate Professor of Music at Memorial University in St. John's. Christine is a Buffet Crampon Artist.
Praised for her “artistic, clear and enlightened” performances (BBC Magazine) of “technical brilliance and complete emotional engagement" (Fanfare Magazine), Bulgarian pianist Anna Petrova performs extensively as both soloist and chamber musician around the globe. She has been the recipient of top honors and awards at numerous competitions internationally, including the Queen Elisabeth and Jose Roca Competitions, and has appeared in recital in such revered venues as Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.
An avid chamber musician Petrova is a member of two award-winning ensembles: the viola-piano Carr-Petrova Duo, and the clarinet-viola-piano Iris Trio. She serves as the Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Louisville, Visiting Faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, and Visiting Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at Musical Arts Madrid in Spain.