Our Vision and Story
Voice of Iris seeks to dismantle the gender disparity gap in staged vocal works.
Mission
Voice of Iris seeks to dismantle the gender disparity gap in staged vocal works.
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Voice of Iris provides staged performance opportunities for those voices most directly impacted by the gender disparity in classical vocal music: women and gender nonconforming treble voices.
Through commissioning new repertoire, staging existing treble voice compositions, and gender-bending canonical classical and musical theater works, Voice of Iris empowers artists to explore diversity and intersectionality in music.
Voice of Iris uses their stage time and genre-crossing performances to give voice to existing systems of oppression and encourage revolution, presenting their audiences with innovative, unapologetic, and musically excellent experiences.
What is Voice of Iris?
Voice of Iris is a company of women and gender non-confirming singers, musicians, and artists committed to closing the gap of the gender disparity in staged productions of various musical styles, including and not limited to opera, oratorio, song cycles, and musicals.
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We are a newly formed, Boston-based company and we are excited you're here!
Why Does Voice of Iris Exist?
Voice of Iris exclusively focuses on
staged performances.
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A treble singer who has just graduated from a Vocal Performance program will often have an outstandingly difficult time landing roles in opera because of the high demand for tenors, baritones, and basses combined with the overwhelming number of sopranos and mezzo-sopranos auditioning for precious few roles.
In much of the operatic canon, an opera will need a huge company of men and feature less than 5 women.
And yet, anyone pursuing a performance career is expected to have multiple lines on their resume listed to continue working.
The disparity is real, and very difficult to overcome, especially for those who are from low-income backgrounds and/or working in a low-income correlating career.
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It is incredibly obvious that there is a need for more opportunities for treble voices to have stage experience.
It is incredibly obvious that there are, currently, not many operatic or classical productions that help resolve this issue.
We are here to fight against these disparities and make the vocal music world more equitable and accessible.
How Are We Tackling This?
Voice of Iris not only seeks out works that are already composed for an all-treble cast, but we are champions of new music.
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We will aim to commission at least one new work per season.
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We will also highlight works previously composed in the last 2 years that have not frequently been performed.
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We aim to lift voices that need to be lifted and tell stories that need to be told.
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We believe empowered musicians
empower musicians.
Who Can Be Involved?
Voice of Iris' founders, Cailin Smith and Sé Brown, envision Voice of Iris to be a collective where creative ideas are welcomed, considered, and executed wherever possible.
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Voice of Iris is for those most affected by the gender disparity gap in vocal performance: women and gender-nonconforming musicians of treble voice.
It is also for women and gender-nonconfirming non-singing artists.
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If you are interested in auditioning, composing, or working with us in another way, please reach out!