She was the first woman to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra and co-founded the Macnaghten-Lemare series of concerts which introduced the public to new works by British composers.
[4] She was supported in her career in music by Hugh Allen, who encouraged her to take elocution and warned her about what he called "an appalling barrier" to women in conducting.
"[7] In 1931, Lemare, Elisabeth Lutyens and Anne Macnaghten created a series of concerts showcasing British composers.
[1] They performed 40 new works in these Macnaghten-Lemare Concerts,[1] which featured music written by Benjamin Britten, Christian Darnton, Gerald Finzi, Luytens, Elizabeth Maconchy, Alan Rawsthorne, John Sykes and Michael Tippett.
[17] The Lemare Orchestra featured soloists such as Geza Anda, Peter Donohoe, Joan Hammond and Benno Moiseivitsch.
[4] Iris was keen to encourage local talent and she was especially fond of introducing young people to the world of opera.
She enjoyed her parties, involving lively chatter about the arts, and also visiting the police stables there, offering sugar lumps to the horses, which was indicative of her love of animals.