'Music is for everybody': How Iris Collective is changing lives of Memphians young and old
A former orchestral group has transformed itself into an organization that’s touching the lives of Memphians young and old.
Like many nonprofit arts groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, Iris Orchestra was struggling to stay afloat, and by spring 2022 the decision was made to end the organization. But a small group of people, including current Executive Director Rebecca Arendt, pushed to transform Iris into a nonprofit like no other in Memphis. Now known as Iris Collective, its vision was led by a question.
“How can music be used as a tool to bring people together and to make the community we live in a little bit better?” Arendt said.
Iris Collective has three pillars of work it focuses on to achieve this goal. The first is music as medicine. Besides critical work at St. Jude and Le Bonheur, Iris recently began a new program: music classes for adults with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Iris fellows Pedro Maia and Otávio Kavakama led a class at adult care center Dorothy’s Place on April 10.
“It’s a challenge in a good way,” Kavakama said. “We always try to bring something that they will recognize… and whenever that happens we feel the difference in the energy in the room.”
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That positivity created through the two musicians' performance was infectious. Many patients lit up at the sound of “Amazing Grace” from Kavakama’s guitar and Maia’s violin, with one woman singing along operatically, and others getting up and dancing. Later, each of the 20 people present received a drum or tambourine and played along to the beat of “Hound Dog.”
“They love blues and they love gospel,” Maia said. “I think having someone to connect with them, be part of their life and bringing something that’s joyful, they enjoy that.”
Iris’ second pillar is music as meaning, and it encompasses a wide range of work. The group still has orchestral programing, but now each performance is tied to community work. For example, Iris partnered with renowned pianist Awadagin Pratt in March to show a film covering issues like racial profiling in America, while performing orchestral works. Or the small business series, comprised of performances inside local small businesses.
The third pillar is music as mentorship, which covers Iris’ work in education. Iris offers tutoring for middle and high school students in orchestra, as well as projects for students who may not be musicians themselves, but still enjoy the art. For example, Iris worked with photography students at Bartlett High School, creating a performance accompanied by a montage of photos that told a story heard in the music.
Arendt said engaging students and other non-musicians is a big part of their core goal in making music accessible.
“Music is for everybody, whether you can play an instrument or not,” she said. “There are ways that you can engage with it. And that's really the heart of what we want to do.”
Jacob Wilt is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal. You can reach him at jacob.wilt@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Iris Collective makes a difference in Memphis every day. Here's how
