The Iris Collective Strings Return!

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

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Join the Iris Collective string musicians as they return for an evening of inspiring and eclectic string music.
Gabriela Fogo is a dynamic and versatile violinist and educator from Brazil. In orchestral settings, Gabriela has played with orchestras across Brazil and the U.S. and her chamber music experience includes collaborations with numerous ensembles like Camerata Fukuda, the Abraham Franck String Quartet, and the Burgin String Quartet, as well as the FogoNuevo violin and viola duo. Deeply committed to music education, Gabriela is a trained Suzuki teacher under the guidance of Susan Kempter at the University of New Mexico.
Gabriela has taught private and group lessons, coached youth orchestras in Brazil and the U.S., and was a Suzuki Group class coordinator at the University of New Mexico string lab school. Gabriela holds a bachelor’s degree in violin performance from Faculdade Cantareira in São Paulo, Brazil, and a master’s degree in violin performance and string pedagogy from the University of New Mexico, where she was a teaching assistant. She received her Doctor of Music degree in violin performance at Florida State University as a graduate teaching assistant to Dr. Shannon Thomas.
Roberta dos Santos is an avid chamber musician and advocate for contemporary music. A Brazilian cellist, Roberta collaborates with some of the most diverse and renowned composers to elevate underrepresented voices in the music scene, both in Brazil and internationally. Roberta continues to influence the next generation of musicians through collaborations with the Memphis Youth Symphony Program, PRIZM Ensemble, and Iris Collective as an Iris Artist Fellow, while also maintaining a private studio in the U.S. and Brazil.
Roberta is a doctoral candidate in cello performance at the University of Memphis, where she also serves as a teaching assistant. Roberta earned her bachelor’s degree from Faculdade Cantareira in São Paulo, Brazil, her master’s degrees from the Federal University of Paraíba and Bowling Green State University, and an Artist Diploma from Nicholls State University.

Iris Fellows at the Green Room

Crosstown Arts presents Iris Fellows at The Green Room

The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Thursday, November 6, 2025
Doors open at 7 pm | Show begins at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $20 in advance (plus fees) | $20 at the door

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Join our Fellows, Roberta dos Santos, cello, and Alexandre Negrão, violin, for an eclectic night of music in this intimate setting. From the lyricism of Brazilian masters Osvaldo Lacerda and Chiquinha Gonzaga, to the intensity of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 7, this program spans worlds of sound and emotion. The program also includes Tucker Fuller’s contemplative The Road Ahead inspired by Thomas Merton’s reflections on faith, and Clarice Assad’s Canções da América, bursting with color and rhythm. Featuring Iris artists Marisa Polesky, violin; Aaron Tubergen, viola and David Carlisle, percussion.About the Fellows:
Originally from Belem do Pará, Alexandre Negrão started his violin studies when he was 7 years old at the Fundação Amazônica de Música. Alexandre is a former member of the Theatro da Paz Symphony Orchestra and has served as acting concertmaster from 2014 to 2016.
Alexandre has studied in a special international string program in Southern Louisiana at Nicholls State University under the direction of Prof. James Alexander in Fall 2016. After completing the program, Alexandre auditioned and was admitted with full scholarship for his undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri – School of Music. He has graduated with master’s in music degree in violin performance in the class of Professor Eva Szekely this August 2025 and was the violin chair for the New Music Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Stefan Freund.
Currently he dedicates his time to discover and perform music from underrepresented composers from Brazil and the USA. While teaching and guiding young musicians in the community, Alexandre help students to find their on paths in music and in life.
Roberta dos Santos is an avid chamber musician and advocate for contemporary music. A Brazilian cellist, Roberta collaborates with some of the most diverse and renowned composers to elevate underrepresented voices in the music scene, both in Brazil and internationally.
As an educator, Roberta has dedicated over a decade to teaching at Associação Músicos do Futuro in Taboão da Serra, her alma mater. She is a Suzuki-certified instructor, trained under Dr. Tanya Carey, and she has mentored students at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensembles.
Roberta continues to influence the next generation of musicians through collaborations with the Memphis Youth Symphony Program, PRIZM Ensemble, and other initiatives, while also maintaining a private studio in the U.S. and Brazil. Roberta is a doctoral candidate in cello performance at the University of Memphis, where she also serves as a teaching assistant. Her doctoral research explores themes of social justice and race within Brazilian classical music. Her principal mentors include Ji Yon Shim Anderson, Felipe Avellar de Aquino, Dennis Parker, Brian Snow, and Kimberly Patterson.

Iris Collective: “Spacetime”

Crosstown Arts presents Iris Collective: “Spacetime” in The Green Room.

The Green Room at Crosstown Arts
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Doors at 7 pm | Show at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $15 | $5 students

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

The Iris Collective presents “Spacetime,” a curation of pieces that focus on the expansion of time and exploration of space. The program features works written by Fazil Say, Dmitri Kourliandski, Dosia McKay, Claudio Santoro, and Johan Halvorsen.

Program:

Broken Memory pour piano, violon et violoncelle by Dmitri Kourliandski

Danse Macabre by Dosia McKay

Trio para violino, violoncelo e piano by Claudio Santoro

Passacaglia for Violin and Cello by George Frederic Handel/Johan Halvorsen

Space Jump by Fazil Say