Diedre Irons
Diedre Irons is one of New Zealand's most distinguished performing
musicians. Born in Winnipeg, Canada, she made her debut with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra at the age of 12 playing the Schumann Piano concerto. She graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and was subsequently invited by her teacher, Rudolf Serkin, to join the faculty of that prestigious conservatory where she taught for the next seven years. During those years she toured Canada and the United States as a soloist and as a chamber music player. Since moving to New Zealand in 1977 she has performed regularly with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia and the Christchurch Symphony, toured many times under the auspices of Chamber Music New Zealand, and recorded extensively for Radio New Zealand.
She has performed in many countries as a concerto soloist, as a recitalist, and as a chamber music player in collaboration with renowned ensembles.
In NZ she has performed with Michael Houstoun, the New Zealand
String Quartet, Dame Malvina Major, Jan Tawroszewicz, Alexander Ivashkin and many others; overseas collaborations include the Leopold String Trio, the Michaelangelo, Kodaly, Kocian and Latin American String Quartets and pianist Jean-Philippe Collard. Between 1984 and 1991 she toured in 25 countries with Slovenian violinist Miha Pogacnik, giving concerts and piano master classes, and representing New Zealand in intercultural festivals through the Institute for the Development of Intercultural Relations through the Arts. With conductor Marc Taddei and the Christchurch Symphony she recorded for CD the complete piano concerti of Beethoven on the Trust label.
She was awarded an MBE in 1989 and an ONZM in 2011 for services to music and in 2007 received the degree Doctor of Music (honoris causa) from Brandon University in Manitoba, Canada. Senior lecturer in piano at the University of Canterbury from 1992-2003, she has recently retired from her position as programme leader of classical performance at the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington and is relishing her new status as a full time concert pianist.