Lara Downes
Lara Downes is among the foremost American pianists of her generation, a trailblazer both on and off the stage, whose musical roadmap seeks inspiration from the legacies of history, family and collective memory. As a chart-topping recording artist, a powerfully charismatic performer, a curator and tastemaker, Downes is recognized as a cultural visionary on the national arts scene.
Downes' forays into the broad landscape of American music have created a series of acclaimed recordings, including America Again, hailed by The Boston Globe as "a balm for a country riven by disunion."
With a fierce commitment to arts advocacy, Downes enjoys creative collaborations with a range of leading artists, including multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer Rhiannon Giddens, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, folk icon Judy Collins, writer Adam Gopnik, and former U.S. poet laureate Rita Dove. Her close partnerships with prominent composers span genres and generations, with premieres and commissions coming from Jennifer Higdon, John Corigliano, Stephen Schwartz, Paola Prestini, Clarice Assad, Michael Abels, and many others.
She is host of the NPR show AMPLIFY with Lara Downes and is an Artist Ambassador for Headcount, working to promote participation in democracy through music.
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The Tank and the Bangas frontwoman talks about the strength and versatility of her words — alone and within her music. -
In celebration of what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.'s 96th birthday, pianist Lara Downes examines how musicians have followed in his footsteps, and faced the cost of taking a stand. -
The Grammy winner and former Late Show bandleader unravels the crisscrossing threads of musical lineage from Beethoven's own personal blues to the musical art form that undergirds Batiste's Louisiana roots. -
Whether she’s singing in the world’s great opera houses, the White House or in prisons, the celebrated mezzo-soprano and U.S. Global Music Ambassador understands how music can move people. -
The self-described “surreal blues poet” savors the significance of words and the noisy poetry of city life. -
As music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Heyward is the youngest to lead a major American orchestra and the first Black music director in the organization’s 107-year history. -
The principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra radiates an empathetic, Yoda-like wisdom when it comes to conjuring beautiful sounds from both pros and students. -
The versatile singer, who emphasizes self-acceptance, says his mission is to be a bridge from the classical community to pop, jazz and R & B. And if you’re not a fan, that’s okay. -
The name of the great contralto and civil rights icon now lives above the doors to the grand hall in Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. -
The rising young singer-songwriter, who tours with Willie Nelson and sings on Beyoncé's latest album, is making a name for herself in a new era of more inclusive country music.
