LARA DOWNES
SYmphony projects + Repertoire
20th Century Rep
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Florence Price: Concerto in One Movement
Lara Downes is known as one of the foremost interpreters of Florence Price’s music, whose solo piano works she brought to the attention of millions of listeners in world premiere recordings with her widely acclaimed 2019 album Florence Price Piano Discoveries.
Lara has performed Price’s 1933 Piano Concerto in D Minor with leading American orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Pops, the Detroit Symphony, the Louisville Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Indianapolis Symphony. Her Deutsche Grammophon recording of the Price Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin will be released in 2026.
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Duke Ellington: New World A-Comin’
In his memoir Music Is My Mistress, Ellington wrote, “I visualized this new world as a place in the distant future where there would be no war, no greed, no categorization, no non-believers, where love was unconditional, and no pronoun was good enough for God.”
New World A-Comin’ is a 13-minute rhapsody for piano and band. The title comes from a book of the same name by the much-decorated Black journalist and author Roi Ottley, which documented the daily lives of African Americans in Harlem during the 1920s and ’30s as well as their hope for a better future. Musically, that hope takes the form of a virtuoso showpiece for Ellington at the piano. The beautiful theme and variations are supported with rich overtones and chords that are reminiscent of Ravel and the Romantic sweetness of Rachmaninoff.
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George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue Reimagined
In February 1924, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was premiered in New York City. It captured the exuberant essence of what the composer called “a musical kaleidoscope of America—our vast melting pot...”
Visionary American pianist Lara Downes reimagines Gershwin’s masterpiece to reflect on a century of immigration and transformation, commissioning a radical new arrangement by the Puerto Rican composer Edmar Colón that reverberates with the multicultural, kaleidoscopic sounds of America in our own time. This adventurous work had its world premiere in October 2023 alongside a future-forward ensemble of dynamic young musicians from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra and Roots, Jazz and American Music programs led by conductor Edwin Outwater.
NEW WORKS
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Christopher Tin: Pursuit of Happiness
Originally written as part of Downes’ project Declaration, Pursuit of Happiness is a vivacious and audaciously optimistic rhapsody that celebrates the ideals pursued and deserved not just by every American, but by all human beings, regardless of origin or identity.
Premiere: July 1, 2026, Lincoln Center, American Composers Orchestra under Eric Jacobsen
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Clarice Assad: Piano Concerto
Premiering 2027 in San Francisco with the New Century Chamber Orchestra
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Michael Abels: Bridges
BRIDGES captures the journeys that bridge past and future to keep us moving forward, always in pursuit of our elusive American Dream. The piece unfolds as a suite of musical conversations between piano and orchestral soloists, each inspired by a historic milestone in our quest toward the American promise of equal opportunity for all people. Gradually, these strands come together as the full orchestra unites, with the piano as a constant leading voice of hope and possibility.
Premiering in Houston with ROCO in 2027
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Aldo López-Gavilán: Oceans To Cross
OCEANS TO CROSS is inspired by the human journeys of migration, identity, and imagination - the common languages of music and mission that can unite us across oceans and histories in the pursuit of beauty.
About Lara Downes
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Recently honored as Classical Woman of the Year by NPR’s Performance Today, American pianist Lara Downes is a visionary trailblazer. She has garnered millions of fans spanning diverse communities from her Billboard Chart-topping recordings, her prestigious tour schedule, and her work as a beloved personality and host.
In addition to being the first ever Creative Partner for the LA Chamber Orchestra, Lara’s recent and upcoming onstage adventures include guest appearances with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Louisville, Indianapolis and others, with recitals and residencies at Disney Hall, Ravinia, Tanglewood, the Gilmore Festival, Carolina Performing Arts, Washington Performing Arts, Caramoor, Cal Performances, and Saratoga Performing Arts Center, among others.
Major highlights for the coming year include the world premiere of The Declaration Project, her continued appearance as a featured artist for The Complete Philip Glass Piano Etudes, and the release of her recording of Florence Price Concerto in D minor with Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin on Deutsche Grammophon in August 2026.
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Recently honored as Classical Woman of the Year by NPR’s Performance Today, American pianist (and NY Times crossword clue) Lara Downes has been called “a musical ray of hope” by NBC News, “a classical music instigator pushing the music forward with great gusto” by the NY Amsterdam News,and “an explorer whose imagination is fired by bringing notice to the underrepresented and forgotten” by The Log Journal.
A visionary trailblazer, Lara occupies a unique position of visibility through her dynamic work as a sought-after soloist, a Billboard Chart-topping recording artist, and a beloved personality and host. She has garnered millions of fans spanning diverse communities: her devoted viewers and listeners from her nationally syndicated radio programs intersect with her live concert audiences and her followers on streaming platforms to form a broad and constantly expanding fan base.
Lara’s musical roadmap seeks inspiration from the legacies of history, family, and collective memory, excavating a broad landscape of music to create a series of acclaimed performance and recording projects that serve as gathering spaces for her listeners to find common ground and shared experience. In the words of the renowned 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.”
Lara’s recent and upcoming onstage adventures include guest appearances with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Louisville, Indianapolis and others, with recitals and residencies at Lincoln Center, Disney Hall, Ravinia, Tanglewood, the Gilmore Festival, Carolina Performing Arts, Washington Performing Arts, Caramoor, Cal Performances, and Saratoga Performing Arts Center, among others.
Her creative collaborations embrace an eclectic range of artists including the Miró Quartet, musical multi-hyphenate Rhiannon Giddens, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove, Broadway legend Brian Stokes Mitchell, author John McWhorter and violinist Daniel Hope. Her close partnerships with prominent composers span genres and generations, with premieres and commissions coming from Billy Childs, Valerie Coleman, Arturo O’Farrill, Teddy Abrams, Clarice Assad, and many others.
A cultural visionary with a firm finger on the pulse of tomorrow, Lara is increasingly active as a curator and creative partner with institutions including Lincoln Center, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Brevard Music festival, and as Resident Artist for Classical KDFC in San Francisco and Classical KUSC in Los Angeles.
Her uniquely insightful approach to concept and curation have created an extensive and acclaimed series of chart-topping recordings on the Pentatone, Sony Masterworks and Sono Luminus labels, including her latest release Rhapsody in Blue Reimagined, featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, in the Wall Street Journal and Downbeat Magazine; her 2023 release Love at Last, which was featured as an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and America Again, selected by NPR as one of "10 Albums that Saved 2016” and called “a balm for a country riven by disunion” by the Boston Globe.
Lara is the former the creator and host of AMPLIFY with Lara Downes, an NPR Music series which published its final episode in October 2025. The series is widely know for featuringintimate, profoundly personal video conversations with visionary artists and cultural leaders who are shaping our 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.
Lara’s fierce commitment to citizenship 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.
Lara has recently launched The Declaration Project, a national initiative marking the 250th anniversary of the United States by gathering together American communities to find common ground in exploring the core essence of our founding promise: the unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Engaging with multi-generational communities in the form of round-table conversations, generative writing workshops, and collaborative creative practice, Lara is encouraging reflection and expression that actively reimagines the promise of our future, reflecting on the magic and mystery of life, the ongoing quest for freedom and equality, and the radical power of joy. Submissions to The Declaration Project are being collected as a national digital archive, and will be featured in a video installation.
Major highlights for the coming year: her continued work as the first ever Creative Partner for the LA Chamber Orchestra, the premiere of Lara’s multimedia concert DECLARATION, featuring a triptych of new works by Grammy Award-winning American composers Valerie Coleman, Arturo O’Farrill and Christopher Tin, respectively titled Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in July 2026, and the release of Lara’s Deutsche Grammophon recording of Florence Price Concerto in D minor with Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin in August 2026.