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.
They have 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 Haus (Zwickau), Geneva Music Festival (NY), the Climate Museum (New York City), and Guarneri Hall (Chicago), and residencies at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, Queen’s University, Western University, and University of St. Andrews (Scotland) to name a few. The Trio’s debut album, Homage and Inspiration, was released in 2020 on the German label Coviello Classics to international acclaim, with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation selecting it as one of “10 upcoming Canadian classical albums to get excited about,” Fanfare Magazine praising it as “a five-star, real stand-out release,” and The American Record Guide noting the ensemble’s “…great beauty, clarity, prowess, authenticity, and teamwork.”
Project Earth, the Iris Trio’s genre-defying response to the planetary crisis, has been similarly embraced for its significance and stunning newly commissioned music and poetry. The Blue Chapter of the project was the subject of a feature story in the Ottawa Citizen and was released on the Centrediscs label in 2024. The album has received extensive airplay internationally, was nominated for “Instrumental Release of the Year” by the East Coast Music Awards, won MusicNL’s “Classical Artist of the Year,” and was selected as “Record of the Week” by CBC’s In Concert. The Trio’s film, “Bird Island Suite,” was an official selection at the International Film Festival The Hague and won “Best Environmental Film” at a number of festivals, including the Chicago International Women Film Fest, Mannheim Arts and Film Festival, Berlin Kiez Film Festival, and Tulum World Environmental Film Festival. The Green Chapter of the project will be released on Centrediscs in October 2026.
Collectively, the members of the Iris Trio hold positions at Memorial University, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the University of Texas at Austin, and have performed around the world on major concert stages from Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Sydney Opera House