Concert Producer. Flutist. Ultramarathoner. Writer. Sober-minded adventurer. Fully, finally, New York City.

This is a space for stories, lessons, and dispatches from a life lived at full volume, from the stages of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to the deserts of Patagonia, the Atacama, and the Gobi and the Arctic trails of Lapland, from the streets of New York City to the quieter, harder terrain of sobriety. The static is gone. The writing has begun. This is the space where the thinking that doesn’t fit anywhere else lives.

The longer version

Iris Derke

Co-Founder and General Director, DCINY | Entrepreneur | Concert Producer | Flutist | Writer | Ultramarathoner | Sober-Minded Adventurer

Iris Derke is a writer, concert producer, flutist, and ultramarathoner, and the author of the forthcoming Mental Laundry: Notes from the Back of the Pack (2027) and its companion memoir, Camera Dark. Her stories span the concert halls of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the desert trails of Patagonia and Mongolia, the streets of New York City, and the quieter, harder terrain of sobriety and self-discovery.

The Writing Life

Iris writes about the intersections of adventure, sobriety, music, running, and what it means to finally see yourself clearly. Her essays and blog posts draw on Stoic and Buddhist philosophy, hard-won lessons from the trail and the concert stage, and the particular texture of life in New York City. She is at work on two companion books. Mental Laundry: Notes from the Back of the Pack (coming 2027) is a book about running that is not really about running, drawn from four 155-mile desert races and eight New York City Marathons. Camera Dark is the inside view, a life memoir built around sober-minded living and the real business of showing up. Neither is a recovery memoir. Both are books she wishes someone had handed her. Explore the Mental Laundry companion page →

Camera Dark Notes, on Substack

Field notes from the work in progress, every other Sunday. The writing life, the running life, the sober life. Dispatches from the middle of it all. If you want to walk alongside while the books get made, this is where that happens. Read and subscribe at Camera Dark Notes.

DCINY: The Work

Iris co-founded DCINY in 2007 with her longtime business partner and friend, conductor Jonathan Griffith, and today leads the company as General Director. DCINY has presented large-scale performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and prestigious venues worldwide since 2008, uniting tens of thousands of artists from across the globe and earning recognition eight times on Inc. Magazine’s 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in America.

As a creative collaborator, Iris has worked with renowned composers including Eric Whitacre, Sir Karl Jenkins, Heather Sorenson, and Christopher Tin, presenting numerous world and American premieres. She served as Executive Producer on the CD Messiah Refreshed! featuring the Royal Philharmonic at Abbey Road Studios, and has brought landmark productions including Eric Whitacre’s Paradise Lost to stages in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas. Watch the “What Do You Do?” feature on DCINY.

Musical Artist

An accomplished flutist and Manhattan School of Music graduate, Iris has performed internationally with orchestras including the TURKSOY Symphony in Turkey, the Polish National Symphony, the Croatian Chamber Orchestra, and DCINY’s Distinguished Concert Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. World premieres have been written specifically for her, including Dinos Constantinides’ Flute and Harp Concerto at Lincoln Center and Matej Mestrovic’s Flautando at the Zagreb Opera House. Studio recording credits include Disney, Columbia/RCA, and Apple. Critics have described her playing as “attentive and loving… celestial music… heart-rendering sequences.” Watch the Zagreb Opera House performance.

Industry Leadership

A sought-after speaker on arts leadership, entrepreneurship, and the integrated life, Iris has presented at the Association of British Choral Directors in Glasgow and takes part each year in the Inc. Magazine National Student Leadership Conference at Columbia University. In September 2026, she spoke at the Sober Sis Quest Retreat in Palm Springs on clarity, New York City, and what the past twenty-five years have revealed. Her work has been featured in Inc. Magazine and Business Insider. She proudly serves on the Chorus America board and contributes to the American Choral Directors Association and the National Collegiate Choral Organization.

Running and Adventure

A PADI-certified Rescue Scuba Diver and ultra-endurance athlete, Iris has participated in four 155-mile, 7-day self-supported Racing the Planet races: Patagonia, Chile’s Atacama Desert, Lapland’s Arctic Circle, and Mongolia’s Gobi. She is a proud back-of-the-pack NYC Marathon finisher, eight-times and counting, running with New York Road Runners for the journey, the conversations, and the reminder that forward is always enough. She also leads Run / Walk / Crawl, early-morning runs at music conferences that are now part of the programming at Chorus America.

The Sober-Minded Journey

Iris is open about her sobriety journey and writes candidly about what it has revealed about self-worth, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves. The tools that make a whole life possible, Stoicism, community, movement, and writing, are woven throughout her work. She is an active member of the Sober Sis community and believes that the most powerful thing one person can offer another is honest witness.

A California Girl, Now Fully New York City

Originally from Santa Monica, California, Iris was educated at UCLA, The Royal College of Music in London, Manhattan School of Music, and Columbia University’s School of Business. She lives and writes in New York City.

---

If you’re a builder who refuses to put your art down, or an event organizer looking for a speaker who’s actually doing the integrated thing she’s talking about, I’d love to hear from you. The newsletter is on Substack. Book news goes there first.