American Composers
Since its first year, Iris has included American music from the 20th and 21st centuries in its programs, pieces whose range reflects the diversity that continues to animate and fuel the American spirit. Says Artistic Director Michael Stern, “I think it is necessary to be connected to the music of our time, no matter how good we might be as caretakers of the music of the past. It makes us better musicians, and better interpreters of the classics. One of our cherished and sacred obligations as musicians is to continue to probe the works of the great masters of the past, and keep the genius of their creative achievement alive and present. But the voices of contemporary composers should be no less relevant to us, and continue to shape our understanding of the world.”
“With Michael Stern’s approach to shaping the music and letting it live rather than trying to control it, with his ease and understanding of the delicate relationship between a music director and an orchestra, and with the expertise and good nature of the musicians, the technical challenges seem to disappear.”
-IRIS Musician
Adams, John
The Chairman Dances:
Foxtrot for Orchestra
Antheil, George
A Jazz Symphony
Date: 10/11/03
Barber, Samuel
Adagio for Strings
Date: 02/02/02
Barber, Samuel
Capricorn Concerto
Date: 12/06/02
Barber, Samuel
Concerto for Violin
Date: 02/02/02
Barber, Samuel
Dover Beach
Date: 03/24/062
Barber, Samuel
Knoxville, Summer 1915
Date: 12/02/02
Barber, Samuel
Medea, Op. 23, Suite
Date: 02/21/02
Barber, Samuel
Souvenirs, op. 28
Date: 03/03/03
Beaser, Robert
Folk Songs for String Orchestra, Harp and Timpani
Date: 12/04/10
Bernstein, Leonard
Serenade after Plato’s Symposium
Date: 03/20/10
Bernstein, Leonard
Three Dance Episodes from On the Town
Date: 09/19/00
Brubeck, Chris
Travels in Time for Three
Date: 01/21/11
Copland, Aaron
Concerto for Clarinet
Date: 03/05/06
Copland, Aaron
Fanfare for the Common Man
Date: 09/09/00
Copland, Aaron
Music for the Theater
Date: 05/08/04
Copland, Aaron
Quiet City
Date: 01/19/02
Copland, Aaron
Suite from Appalachian Spring
Date: 10/21/00-02/26/11
Corigliano, John
Symphony No. 2
Date: 02/27/10
Danielpour, Richard
First Light
Date: 10/05/02
Diamond, David
Romeo and Juliet Suite
Date: 01/26/08
Fine, Marshall
Tango in Time of War
Date: 01/25/03
Foss, Lukas
Capriccio for cello and orchestra
Date: 09/19/00
Gandolphi, Michael
Themes form a Midsummer Night
Date: 02/26/11
Gershwin, George
Excerpts from the Songbook
Date: 10/08/05
Gershwin, George
Rhapsody in Blue, arr. Dokschutzer, for Trumpet and Orchestra
Date: 01/24/04
Glass, Philip
A Jazz Concerto-Fantasy for two timpani and orchestra
Date: 03/02/02
Harbison, John
The Most Often Used Chords
Harrison, Lou
Concerto for Pipa and Strings
Date: 12/14/02
Hartke, Stephen
Brandenburg Autumn
Date: 11/10/07
Hartke, Stephen
Pacific Rim
Date: 03/02/02
Hedges, John
American Suite
Date: 12/16/06
Hedges, John
Foxdown
Date: 12/16/06
Hovhaness, Alan
Symphony No. 49, Christmas Symphony
Ives, Charles
Ragtime Dances
Date: 10/11/03
Ives, Charles
Symphony No. 3, Camp Meeting
Date: 10/13/01
Ives, Charles
The Unanswered Question
Date: 11/13/04
Ives, Charles
Variations on “America” orch. Wm. Schuman
Date: 05/02/09
Ives, Charles
Ragtime Dances
Date: 10/11/03
Kernis, Aaron Jay
Musica Celestis
Date: 02/12/05
Leshnoff, Jonathan
Rush world premiere
Date: 03/29/08
Lieberson, Peter
“Neruda Songs” (excerpts)
Date: 05/02/09
Meyer, Edgar
Concerto for Bass and Orchestra
Date: 03/31/01
Riley, Terry
Half-Wolf Dances Mad in Moonlight
Date: 12/14/02
Rorem, Ned
Double Concerto and Violin and Cello
Date: 04/03/04
Scheer, Gene
Voices from World War II (orch. by Julie Gunn and Lee Musiker)
Date: 03/24/06
Schober, David
Split Horizons, Concerto for sextet and orchestra
Date: 02/05/05
Udow, Michael
“Shake” and “Strike” from Four Movements for Percussion Quartet
Date: 03/05/05
Williams, John
Escapades for Saxophone and Orchestra
Date: 03/02/09