Lara Downes, Piano

Biography

A captivating presence both on and offstage, critically acclaimed Steinway Concert Artist Lara Downes is redefining the solo recital format with visionary, cutting-edge performances at prestigious concert venues worldwide. Lauded by NPR as "a delightful artist with a unique blend of musicianship and showmanship" and praised by the Washington Post for her stunning performances "rendered with drama and nuance," Lara presents the piano repertoire - from iconic favorites to newly commissioned works - in new ways that bridge musical tastes, genres and audiences.

Lara’s unique performance style, called "a voyage of discovery and fun" (Sacramento Bee), combines dazzling interpretations of both traditional and less familiar works with engaging, insightful and sometimes humorous narratives that weave musical and historical context around the music she plays. Often accompanied by multimedia visual and spoken-word components, Lara’s enthralling performances construct multi-sensory landscapes that explore the conditions and inspirations that brought the music to life, creating a continuum from composer to performer to listener.

Lara’s performance works, which have received support from prominent organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts’ American Masterpieces program, the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, and American Public Media’s Classical Music Initiative, currently include:

LONG TIME COMING: a multimedia homage to the legacy of Duke Ellington and the impact of music on our history as Americans, including film, spoken word and a new work for piano and small jazz ensemble by composer David Sanford

13 WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE GOLDBERG: a set of 13 new variations re-imagining Bach’s magnificent Aria from the Goldberg Variations, composed by some of America’s brightest living composers

THE AMERICANS: a retrospective of early 20th century American concert music with solo performance and projected imagery "...an American musical-vernacular celebration, delivered with finesse" (Seattle Times)

DIASPORA: a recital of music from composers around the world inspired by the experience of exile

As she continues to move the solo piano recital in exciting new directions, Lara’s fresh interpretations bring her acclaim as one of the most exciting, communicative young pianists of today's generation. Since making concert debuts at Queen Elizabeth Hall London, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Salle Gaveau Paris, she has won over audiences at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the American Academy Rome, San Francisco Performances, Portland Piano International, the University of Vermont Lane Series, the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, the El Paso Pro Musica Festival, and the University of Washington World Series, among many others.

Lara has been heard on NPR's Performance Today, WNYC's New Sounds, All Classical FM, WFMT Chicago, Capital Public Radio's Insights, and WBGO's Jazz Set, among others.

Ms. Downes’ chamber music appearances include collaborations with other noted soloists and ensembles, including violinists Rachel Barton Pine and Lara St. John, cellists Zuill Bailey and Denis Brott, the Miami and Alexander String Quartets, and the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet. Commissions and premieres of new works for Lara have come from composers Aaron Jay Kernis, David Sanford, Benny Golson, Eve Beglarian and Dan Coleman. She has worked across disciplines with collaborators including former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove, choreographer David Grenke, video artist Glenda Drew and director/choreographer Mindy Cooper.

In addition to the excitement Lara brings to the concert stage, her commercial recordings have met with tremendous critical and popular acclaim. Her debut CD, Invitation to the Dance, was called "a magical recording" by NPR, and her second release, American Ballads, was ranked by Amazon.com among the four best recordings of American music ever made. Her most recent recording, Dream of Me, was praised for "exquisite sensitivity" by American Record Guide. 13 Ways of Looking at the Goldberg: Bach Reimagined, will be released on the Tritone label in Fall 2011.

Lara's busy performance career is strongly impacted by her commitment to expanding and developing new audiences for the arts. She is the Founder and President of the 88 KEYS® Foundation, a non-profit organization that fosters opportunities for music experiences and learning in America's public schools, and she regularly works and performs with the next generation of talented young musicians as Curator of the Young Artists program at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis, where she serves as Artist in Residence and host and co-curator of the Studio Classics series.