Cultural festivals and concert programmes increasingly depend on artistic figures who can shape a season rather than simply perform within it. Programming today calls for someone who understands repertoire across centuries, who can place early works beside newly written ones, and who can hold a season together through a clear artistic point of view. Audiences respond to programmes that feel considered rather than assembled at random, and this has placed new weight on the people responsible for those decisions. The work extends beyond a single concert or ensemble, touching festival planning, artistic collaboration, and the daily coordination between composers, performers, and organisers who bring a season to life across a full calendar year.

Iris Lichtinger works across this space as a Creative Music Director, drawing on years of performance experience as a flutist, singer, and pianist alongside her curatorial work with several ensembles. Her programming moves between Early Music and New Music, and between classical and popular forms, often placing them side by side within a single concert. She has built and led ensembles including PROGETTO 600, MÁS QUE TANGO, and the MEHR MUSIK! Ensemble, each shaped around a distinct musical concept rather than a fixed genre.

Her collaborations span internationally recognised soloists, ensembles, and composers, and she has been involved in premieres of contemporary works alongside historical repertoire spanning the Renaissance through the present day. She has held academic and curatorial positions connected to music institutions in Augsburg, contributing to concert series and festival programming there. Her recorded output includes several CDs, one of which received a nomination for Instrumentalist of the Year at the OPUS KLASSIK awards, reflecting the reach of her performance and programming work beyond the concert hall itself.

Iris Lichtinger brings together performance, artistic curation, and academic engagement to create concert programmes that encourage audiences to experience music with greater curiosity and understanding. Her commitment to programming modern works with the existing repertoire ensures that each program is a mixture of the known and the unknown. She works closely with performers and composers to create meaningful musical experiences that bridge artistic vision and live performance. This integrated approach continues to enrich cultural programming and support the development of contemporary music. More information about her work can be found at https://irislichtinger.com/en/.