Three public radio stations, two great American musical traditions, and one very cool venue come together for a concert celebrating America at 250, connecting the worlds of classical and jazz in a single, dynamic program. Join us for this very special evening, curated by tri-state music stations WQXR, WBGO, and WSHU. You’ll hear a vibrant mix of music—introduced by on-air hosts from all three stations, with performances by clarinetist Anthony McGill, pianist Lara Downes, singer Lezlie Harrison, and students from the Jazz Power Initiative.

LARA DOWNES

“Expect glamour with substance”— WQXR, New York’s Classical Station

Recently honored as Classical Woman of the Year by NPR’s Performance Today, American pianist Lara Downes has been called “a musical ray of hope” by NBC News, and “a trailblazing pianist who combines exquisite musicality with an acute awareness of how an artist can make a positive and lasting social impact” by Piano Magazine. She seeks inspiration from the legacies of history, family, and collective memory, creating performances and recording projects that serve as gathering spaces for her listeners to find common ground and shared experience. Besides her visibility as a performer and Billboard chart-topping recording artist, Downes is the creator and host of the popular NPR show AMPLIFY with Lara Downes and boasts 100,000-plus weekly listeners to her nationally syndicated radio programs. In the words of American conductor JoAnn Falletta, “Lara Downes is a perfect artist for our time, a champion of new and neglected music, an extraordinary communicator, a passionate advocate for our art form.”

A sought-after piano soloist, Downes has performed with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Louisville, and Indianapolis; and had recitals and residencies at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Big Ears festival, Disney Hall, Ravinia, Tanglewood, the Gilmore Festival, Carolina Performing Arts, Washington Performing Arts, and Cal Performances. Her creative collaborations embrace an eclectic range of artists including musical polymath Rhiannon Giddens, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove, Broadway legend Brian Stokes Mitchell, author John McWhorter, the Miró Quartet, and violinists Tessa Lark and Daniel Hope. She has also enjoyed close partnerships with a host of prominent genre- and generation-spanning composers, including Valerie Coleman, Arturo O'Farrill, Christopher Tin, Billy Childs, Paola Prestini, Adolphus Hailstork, Clarice Assad, and many others.

As a recording artist, Downes’s uniquely insightful approach to concept and curation has resulted in an acclaimed series of chart-topping releases on the Pentatone, Sony Masterworks, and Rising Sun labels. Her latest, This Land, was featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, in The Wall Street Journal, and in Downbeat Magazine; her 2023 release, Love at Last, was featured as an NPR Tiny Desk Concert; and America Again, selected by NPR as one of "10 Albums that Saved 2016,” was hailed by the Boston Globe as “a balm for a country riven by disunion.”

AMPLIFY with Lara Downes, the NPR Music series now in its fourth season that the pianist created and hosts, features intimate, profoundly personal video conversations with the visionary artists and cultural leaders who are shaping the creative present and future. Her work has been supported by the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Sphinx Venture Fund, and the Center for Cultural Innovation, among others.

Downes’s fierce commitment to activism and advocacy has led to her role as an Artist Ambassador for Headcount, a non-partisan organization that uses the power of music to register voters and promote participation in democracy.

LEZLIE HARRISON

Lezlie Harrison represents her own renaissance, continuously evolving and offering gifts to those who pay attention. As a vocalist, she addresses our shared human experiences while inspiring to overcome challenges and celebrate. Whether in Jazz, Blues, Gospel, or compositions, Ms. Harrison delivers each piece with her unique touch. As a curator on the global leader in Jazz radio, WBGO, she showcases her love for America’s classical music. Active in the global Jazz scene, she helped establish the acclaimed Jazz Gallery in New York. Occasionally, Lezlie acts, bringing the same elegance she once had on Paris runways Her journey reflects the dignity and grace instilled by her elders. Pay attention!

ANTHONY McGILL

“McGill is an extraordinary player, with a quiver of skills and a palette of colors that only

buttress what is a singular sensibility toward his instrument.

The man is an artist.” -- The Washington Post

Clarinetist Anthony McGill, praised for his “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound and rich character” (The New York Times), is one of classical music’s most recognizable and multifaceted figures. He serves as Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic—the first African-American principal in the orchestra’s history—and enjoys a dynamic solo and chamber music career.

McGill is the 2024 Musical America Instrumentalist of the Year and recipient of the 2020 Avery Fisher Prize. He appears regularly as a soloist with leading orchestras including the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics and the Chicago and Detroit Symphonies.

He has released acclaimed recordings with the Pacifica Quartet (American Stories, Mozart & Brahms Quintets), and pianist Gloria Chien (Here With You), and performed at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration. His advocacy for racial equity includes founding the viral #TakeTwoKnees campaign and partnering with Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative, with whom he performed in Montgomery, AL on Juneteenth 2024.

McGill is a faculty member at Juilliard and Curtis, where he directs the Music Advancement Program (MAP), focused on young musicians from underrepresented communities. He helped launch the MAP Summer Scholarship Fund and supported its $50 million Crankstart endowment. McGill is a graduate of the Curtis Institute, a board member of Cedille Records and the Harmony Program, and an advisor to several youth initiatives. He is a Backun Artist.

ZAH! ENSEMBLE/JAZZ POWER INITIATIVE

Jazz Power Initiative (JPI), the d/b/a of The Jazz Drama Program, is a Northern Manhattan based non-profit organization committed to transforming lives through jazz performance and education. Founded in 2003 by jazz musician Eli Yamin, a.k.a Dr. E, and teacher/writer Clifford Carlson, JPI centers jazz, rooted in African American culture, within American history and community. Through immersive programs in jazz music, theatre, and dance, JPI has reached nearly 10,000 youth and over 1,100 educators, and has presented more than 260 performances featuring over 100 professional musicians each year.

Zah! Ensemble is Jazz Power Initiative’s advanced youth performance group, featuring 8–10 young artists ages 11–18 selected annually by audition and interview. Members train weekly with Dr. Eli Yamin, JPI faculty, and guest artists while developing professional skills in voice, theatre, and movement. They perform and record regularly with leading jazz musicians at major NYC venues including Dizzy’s Club, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, and United Palace. Representing the uptown communities of Washington Heights, Harlem, and Inwood, Zah! members serve as young ambassadors of jazz and emerging leaders in the arts.

Pianist Maki Nientao, a native New Yorker born in Harlem and raised in Washington Heights, has been surrounded by music from an early age, taking his first piano lessons with his grandfather at age 5. He began with classical music, and started playing jazz in high school with the guidance of mentors including pianists Eli Yamin and Mark Kross, as well as trombonist Willie Applewhite. Maki performed at Dizzy’s and the Appel Room in high school as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s youth programs, and since then has appeared at numerous venues in New York, including Minton’s Playhouse, Cafe Ornithology, Smalls, Cellar Dog, Arthur’s Tavern, and others. He has recorded with Don Sickler at the historic Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood, New Jersey and as a session musician at Engine Room Audio. In the past year, he has shared the stage with the likes of Johnny O’Neal, Samara Joy, Philip Harper, and Peter Brainin. He has studied with Bruce Barth and Helen Sung as well as classical pianist Mirna Lekic. Maki is very passionate about music education, working as part of Jazz Power Initiative as a staff pianist for their youth programs, public school residencies, and workshops.