Lara has captivated audiences around the world with her charismatic energy, breathtaking virtuosity and visionary programming. Composer David Sanford has been called "the real thing, a composer in the American tradition of brash, open eared exploration." Together they've created a new multimedia concert work celebrating the convergence of American music and culture - LONG TIME COMING.
LONG TIME COMING features piano masterpieces by Duke Ellington and the world premiere of an original work for piano, Spoken Word artist and jazz ensemble by David Sanford. Created as a modern day response to Ellington's iconic fantasy suite "New World A Comin," Mr. Sanford's new compostion draws inspiration from multiple musical genres to synthesize the diverse racial and cultural traditions that define contemporary American music - classical, jazz, R&B/funk, hip -hop and others.
Interwoven throughout the piece are projected images of contemporary American life, and the live spoken words of a young urban poet reflecting on the power of hope in troubled times.
...a scattering of seeds...displaced peoples forced to leave their ancestral homes, sowing their cultural legacies across other lands... Lara reflects on this phenomenon around the world and across the centuries in a fascinating recital program of works from composers in exile - a richly woven tapestry of cultures, traditions, and musical influences.
Frederic Chopin Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise
William Grant Still Africa: Land of Romance
Bela Bartok Hungarian Peasant Songs
Tan Dun Eight Memories in Watercolor
Osvaldo Golijov Levante
Ernst Bloch Visions and Prophecies
George Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue
This program was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts for funding support as part of the University of Washington's 2010-11 performance season.
Lara's brilliant virtuosity and infectious onstage energy is showcased in THE AMERICANS, a fascinating recital program celebrating distinctly American voices of the 20th century – Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, George Gershwin, Virgil Thomson, Roy Harris and Florence Price. This vibrant, atmospheric music composed from the 1920’s-1950’s is performed against a changing backdrop of images of contemporary American life from noted photographers of the period – Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Berenice Abbott.
THE AMERICANS also includes an exclusive classical piano work from American jazz legend Benny Golson – On Gossamer Wings – composed several years ago specifically for Lara. Ms. Downes performed the world premiere of the piece at Lincoln Center and again last February at Kennedy Center in Washington DC – “a balletic keyboard reverie rendered with nuance and drama by Lara Downes.” WASHINGTON POST
THE AMERICANS presents music of hope, tracing the creation of art in the face of economic and cultural adversity with an emerging new sound for the future. Lara’s remarkable affinity for this transformational music is rooted in her own heritage of diversity. Born to a Midwestern Jewish mother and an immigrant Jamaican father raised in New York’s Harlem, Lara represents the new face of the American experience.
Part I: The Heartland
Samuel Barber: Excursions
Virgil Thomson: The Plow that Broke the Plains
Aaron Copland: Three Pieces from Our Town
Roy Harris: American Ballads
Part II: Blue Notes and Jazz Nights
Florence Price: Fantasie Negre
Benny Golson: On Gossamer Wings
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Lara beckons you to the dance floor as she celebrates beloved works by 19th and 20th century Masters. Invitation to the Dance is a collection of solo recital pieces capturing the spirit of the ballroom through the ages, remarkably and passionately performed by one of today's brightest talents.
Weber Invitation to the Dance
Liszt/Tchaikovsky Polonaise from Eugene Onegin Ginastera Danzas Argentinas Ravel La Valse Chopin Bolero Barber Souvenirs
Lara performs on the Steinway concert grand #L1037, featured in the award-winning independent documentary Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037, which aired nationally on PBS in September 2009. Note By Note follows the creation of a Steinway concert grand from forest floor to concert hall. The film explores the relationship between musician and instrument, chronicles the manufacturing process, and illustrates what makes each Steinway unique in this age of mass production. Lara presents a solo recital performance that gives a unique perspective on the history and range of this remarkable instrument. After the performance, audience members can come up on the stage to see and play the instrument.
BAILEY/DOWNES DUO - American Icons
Lara joins internationally acclaimed American cellist Zuill Bailey in a new performance partnership forged at the prestigious El Paso Pro Musica festival. Their duo program AMERICAN ICONS includes Samuel Barber's transcendent Cello Sonata, Roberto Sierra's "Suite de Canciones y Danzas," and other celebrated works for cello and piano by noted American composers including Gershwin, Copland and Foss.