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) are known for their imaginative programming and powerhouse performances.
Launched to the international stage in 2013, a sold-out performance at the German Consulate in New York City was quickly followed by an invitation to the prestigious Mozartfest Würzburg (Germany), where they gave the world premiere of Christof Weiß’s Conversation Among Friends at the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Residence Palace and were featured in Michael Wende & Andreea Varga’s documentary, MozartLabor. They have since toured extensively throughout North America and Europe, including performances at the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), Canadian Opera Company (Toronto), Piano Salon Christophori (Berlin), Sendesaal (Bremen), Robert Schumann House (Zwickau), and Geneva Music Festival (NY), to name a few.
In 2018 the Iris Trio toured their project, Homage and Inspiration, across Germany, pairing works by Schumann and Mozart with modern tributes to these masterpieces by György Kurtág and Christof Weiß. The Bremen Weser Kurier commented on the ensemble’s “tremendously expressive, exciting and pointed performance,” the Amberger Zeitung remarked that “their ensemble playing is simply fabulous, perfectly balanced, admirable in its rhythmic security and virtuosity,” and the Augsburger Allgemeine offered “… it was a musical and lively performance, strong in the technical nuances, and with an exquisite balance of sound.” The final concert of the tour took place at the renowned Sendesaal in Bremen, where the Trio recorded their debut album, Homage and Inspiration. The album was released in 2020 on the German Coviello Classics label to international acclaim. The Canadian Broadcasting Company named it “one of the top 10 upcoming Canadian albums to get excited about,” Spain’s Ritmo Magazine designated it a special release, noting that the Trio had “ admirable sound balance … delicacy and profound knowledge,” and Fanfare Magazine praised the album as “a five-star, real stand-out release.”
The Iris Trio continues to commission and champion the work of inspiring living artists. Project Earth, their most recent interdisciplinary commissioning project, strives to illuminate the impact of human behavior on the environment, addressing issues of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, while recognizing the power of our collective imagination to create meaningful change. Through this multi-chapter project, the trio has collaborated with celebrated poets Don McKay and Karen Solie (both Griffin Poetry Prize winners), and internationally acclaimed Juno Award-winning composers Florian Hoefner, Sarah Slean, and Andrew Downing. They have brought this genre-defying project to dozens of venues internationally, including the Canadian Opera Company, National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Geneva Music Festival (New York), Piano Salon Christophori in Berlin, and the Sendesaal in Bremen. The Blue Chapter of the project will be released on Centrediscs in January 2024 and The Green Chapter recorded in Germany in May of 2024.
The Iris Trio’s recent engagements include residencies at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, the University of Louisville, Memorial University, Queen’s University, McMaster University, and Western University, as well as substantial touring in North America and Europe. All three members of the Trio are active recitalists and educators in their own right. Collectively, they hold positions at Memorial University, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the University of Louisville, and have performed around the world on major concert stages from Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Sydney Opera House.