Iris Derke, DCINY's Co-Founder and General Director joins Chorus America Board of Director

Iris Derke, Co-Founder and General Director for DCINY, has accepted Chorus America's invitation to join the organization's Board of Directors. Chorus America is a leading advocacy group for the choral field, serving thousands of choruses nation-wide.

"It is a great honor to join Chorus America's Board of Directors," says Derke. "Chorus America is an important advocate for the choral community and I am thrilled to not only be a part of their team but to have an opportunity to lend my business and entrepreneurship skills," she adds. Derke and DCINY staff organizes an annual Charitable Fun Run/Walk/Crawl at the yearly Chorus America Conference raising funds for the organization and is already planning the 2020 edition for the June 2020 Conference in Miami, Florida.

Derke is an entrepreneur, flautist, concert producer, and arts administrator. As the Co-founder and General Director of Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY), a major production company encompassing large-scale concerts at numerous prestigious concert venues around the world, Derke has brought together over fifty thousand talented artists and musicians from across the globe in over 200 performances.

A versatile flautist Derke's performances have taken her throughout the world including concert appearances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, in Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey with the Turksoy Symphony Orchestra, in Bialystok, Poland with the Polish National Symphony. Derke will be appearing as flute soloist with the Constanta Symphony Orchestra in Bucharest, Romania featuring the music of composer Dinos Constantinides this September and with the Croatian Chamber Orchestra in Zagreb, Croatia performing Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto and the world premiere of Flautando, a new work written for her by Matej Meštrovic this November.

Derke is a major contributor to the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Chorus America, National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO), and the International Federation of Choral Music (IFCM), among other organizations. She spoke most recently at the Association of British Choral Directors Conference at the Royal Conservatory of Scotland, Glasgow.

As an avid seeker of life's adventures, Ms. Derke has enjoyed robust adventures in the sports world. She has completed 2 ultra-marathons, trekking 155 miles over the 7-day self-supported Racing the Planet Desert Runs through the Andes Mountains of Patagonia and the Atacama Desert of Chile, in addition to annually participating in the NYC Marathon and NYC Triathlon. Originally from Santa Monica, California, Ms. Derke received education and ongoing training at UCLA, The Royal College of Music in London (United Kingdom), Manhattan School of Music and at Columbia University's School of Business.

ABOUT CHORUS AMERICA
Chorus America is the advocacy, research, and leadership development organization that advances the choral field. The organization supports and serves choral conductors, administrators, board members, and singers with tools, training, peer networking, and access so that choruses are better able to contribute to their communities. Chorus America serves more than 6,000 choruses, individuals, businesses, and organizations with a wide array of programs, publications, research, and professional services. These services strengthen their ability to build strong organizations that foster quality choral performances and community connections. Chorus America is governed by a diverse board of accomplished arts leaders from across North America, and the executive staff is headquartered in Washington, DC. Chorus America was founded as the Association of Professional Vocal Ensembles in 1977 to gain recognition for professional choruses and today represents hundreds of choruses of every kind throughout North America and beyond.

ABOUT DISTINGUISHED CONCERTS INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK (DCINY)
Founded in 2007 by Iris Derke and Jonathan Griffith, with its first public performance in January 2008, DCINY is a leading producer of dynamic musical entertainment in renowned international venues. Over 40,000 musicians representing 49 countries and all 50 United States have participated in DCINY productions. Since the inception of the company, DCINY has produced 51 world premieres and more than 200 concerts for over 200,000 audience members.

With unforgettable, world-class concert experiences, empowering educational programs, and a global community of artists and audiences, DCINY changes lives through the power of musical performance. In addition to being selected five times for Inc. 5000, DCINY has received national recognition with multiple American Prizes: Jonathan Griffith, Founder and Music Director of Distinguished Concerts Orchestra (Winner 2014 American Prize in Conducting, Professional Orchestra Division), DCINY's General Director and Co-Founder Iris Derke and the DCINY Team (Winner 2015 American Prize in Arts Marketing), and Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) has been recognized by LUX Life Magazine as the Most Outstanding Musical Education Program 2019 - New York.                

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