Crosstown Arts presents Iris Collective Strings in The Green Room
The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Friday, May 16, 2025
Doors open at 7 pm | Show begins at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $20 in advance (plus fees) | $20 at the door
Tag: classical music
Central Atrium
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Show begins at 8PM
Tickets: Pay-What-You-Can
Rushes is a 55 minute tour-de-force that takes the listener on a meditative journey through rich, undulating harmonies captured by the velvety sound of seven bassoons.
Rushes Ensemble is an all-star septet comprised of leading performers of contemporary bassoon music in the United States: Michael Harley, Maya Stone, Lynn Hileman, Jeffrey Lyman, Rachael Elliott, Saxton Rose, and Sara Schoenbeck.
The group debuted in 2012 with the world premiere performance of Michael Gordon’s Rushes at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center in Troy, New York. Their premiere recording of the work was released by Cantaloupe Records in 2014. Rushes Ensemble has appeared throughout Europe and North America at venues including November Music, Korzo Theater and GLOW Festival in the Netherlands; Surround Festival in Brugge, Belgium; Vancouver New Music Festival; Duke Performances; Oz Arts in Nashville; Big Ears in Knoxville; Peak Performances in Montclair, NJ; and National Sawdust and Park Avenue Armory in New York.
“Rarely does one get to see a group that has been steadily performing the same work to the point of absolute mastery.” — Vancouver Classical Music
This programming is made possible in part thanks to an Organizational Development Fund grant from New Music USA.
Doors open at 7PM | Performance begins at 7:30PM
Tickets: $15 advance | $20 at the door ($5 student tickets available)
This is a concert inspired by Adam W. Sadberry’s late grandfather and unsung hero of the Civil Rights Movement, L. Alex Wilson. Wilson’s work as an editor and journalist changed the world through covering pivotal Civil Rights events including the lynching of Emmett Till, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the desegregation of Central High School by the Little Rock 9, the last of which played a part in Wilson’s transformation into a martyr. In this concert, Adam intertwines articles that he collected from the archives of the Tri-State Defender, Wilson’s newspaper in Memphis, Tennessee, with music that contextualizes the humanity and inhumanity of the stories.
Adam will be joined on stage by pianist Dr. Artina McCain and clarinetist Dr. Andre Dyachenko.
This programming is made possible in part thanks to an Organizational Development Fund grant from New Music USA.
Doors at 7pm | Performance begins at 7:30pm
Tickets: $10 advance | $15 at the door (students $5)
The Brasilis String Quartet has a mission to share the passion of Latin American music for string quartets and celebrate the living composers. On this concert, they will perform works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, José Elizondo, Dimitri Cervo, Dimitri Shostakovich, and César Guerra Peixe.
Formed by Amaro Dubois on viola, Rebeca Rathlef and Noel Medford on violins, and Roberta Dos Santos on cello, Brasilis String Quartet, has been gathering attention from composers and selected audiences as a diversified and competent group.
“We want to be able to introduce the beauty of Latin American music so that our audience will understand our creative personality and purpose.”
The Brasilis String Quartet also loves to perform works by other composers such as Shostakovich. His famous String quartet No. 8 is the one that is in our next concerts in June/2022.
The Brasilis String Quartet is passionate about understanding the composer’s message behind notes and rhythms. With a varied repertoire mixing Latin American, black and brown, and female composers, the group has performed around the Tennessee area in many recent concerts. Also, Their love for performing compositions that show the varied range of their instruments engages the audience in every concert. Passion and motivation are the keys to the success of their concerts.
“Versatile is a word that defines us, and diversity and inclusion are our power.”
About the Brasilis String Quartet Members:
Praised for his “utmost commitment, and sensitivity to the composers’ diverse voices” (Fanfare Magazine), Brazilian violist Amaro Dubois has become known for expanding and popularizing lesser-known repertoire for the viola through collaborative projects in South and North America. Amaro was awarded the Iris Orchestra Fellowship position under the guidance of music director and conductor Michael Stern for the 19-21 seasons. Recent recordings include the complete Preludes of the Cello Suites by Bach for Breve Classics, and Adoration – Music of The Americas with his Dubois-Yao Duo, where they highlight the music of underrepresented composers. Mr. Dubois is an award-winning violist in many international competitions such London Classical Music Competition, World Classical Music Awards, and King’s Peak International Music Competition.
Violinist Rebeca Rathlef is from Sumaré, Brazil, where she started her violin studies with her grandfather .Rebeca received her undergraduate degree from the University of São Paulo under the tutelage of Professor Eline Tokeshi. In São Paulo, she played at the Orquestra Experimental de Repertório. In the Spring of 2021, Rebeca completed her Master of Music studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is now in the process of earning a D.M.A. at the University of Memphis with Professor Timothy Shiu. Rebeca currently holds the Judith & Sheldon Korones Memorial Fellowship, performing with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. She has also been invited to play with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the Paducah Symphony Orchestra. After completing her studies, Rebeca intends to teach violin under the Suzuki Method and perform in orchestras and chamber ensembles.
As an active advocate of performing music of all sorts of different styles and genres, Noel Medford, violinist, has performed across the United States and in Europe. Next fall, he will begin pursuing an Artist Diploma at the University of Memphis where he will collaborate with Iris Collective. Mr. Medford enjoys performing regularly in several symphony orchestras across the mid-south and teaching students in his violin studio. He currently holds a degree from the University of Memphis (B.M.)
Currently pursuing her doctoral degree at University of Memphis as a Teaching Assistant, Brazilian cellist Roberta dos Santos is an active chamber musician and a new music enthusiast advocating for social justice in classical music. She holds degrees from Bowling Green State University, Nicholls State University, Federal University of Paraíba (Brazil) and Faculdade Cantareira (Brazil).