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This initiative is created and curated by iconoclastic Billboard Chart-topping pianist and NPR Music personality Lara Downes, inspired by exploration of her own mixed-race heritage as a trailblazing interpreter of diverse American traditions, and building on the legacies of history, family, and collective memory.

Produced by Downes in collaboration with Grammy award-winning producer Adam Abeshouse, this extensive series features new recordings of works by composers from William Grant Still, Florence Price, Eubie Blake and Margaret Bonds to Jessie Montgomery, Carlos Simon, Daniel Roumain and Quinn Mason.

Artists include: Jordan Bak; Nicole Cabell; Regina Carter; Lara Downes; the Ivalas Quartet; The Knights; Rachel Barton Pine; PUBLIQuartet; Davóne Tines; Titus Underwood, and other leading instrumentalists and vocalists whose work defines the creative energy of this generation and the next.

A change is gonna come…

RISING SUN MUSIC®

Rising Sun Music is releasing a transformative series of new recordings - music by Black composers spanning nearly 200 years and reflecting a stunning array of musical voices that redefine the American canon.

This is music that tells stories of migration and metamorphosis, trial and triumph, courage and creativity.

These are recordings that are radically reframing the history of classical music by embracing the true diversity of its origins and expanding the inclusivity of its future, “facing the rising sun of our new day begun”.

A MESSAGE FROM LARA DOWNES

Rising Sun Music is supported by a generous grant from the Sphinx Venture Fund.