ON STAGE WITH IRIS COLLECTIVE: VIJAY GUPTA, VIOLIN

Violinist and social justice advocate Vijay Gupta gives his Iris debut with a personal and collaborative program that connects masterworks of the past with the music of our time. A 2018 recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Grant, Vijay Gupta is the founding artistic director of Street Symphony, a community of Los Angeles-based musicians creating performances, workshops, and new songs with neighbors recovering from addiction, homelessness, and incarceration. This performance begins with Bach’s masterpiece, the E Major Partita, with interstitial movements from Kurtag’s ‘“Signs, Games and Messages” for solo violin. Also on the program is a movement of Darshan, written by internationally acclaimed Indian-American composer Reena Esmail. The evening culminates in a performance of the effervescent Beethoven Septet in E-flat Major with members of the Iris Collective. This program kicks off the Iris Collective’s collaboration with Hospitality Hub, a Memphis-based organization whose mission is to connect individuals with the resources they need to begin their journey out of homelessness.