Lara Downes

Curated by Artistic Partner Rhiannon Giddens

Iconoclastic pianist and cultural visionary Lara Downes presents This Land, celebrating the spirit of resilience and imagination that grows at the crossroads of the American journey. The program reflects a wide diversity of voices, both new and familiar, illustrating the beauty that resides in the broad landscape of American music, from Scott Joplin to Angelica Negrón and George Gershwin.

PROGRAM

PAUL SIMON: America

TRADITIONAL: 900 Miles

TRADITIONAL: Shenandoah

TRADITIONAL: My Lord, What a Mornin’

KIAN RAVAEI: Variations on “This Land is Your Land” 

ANGELICA NEGRÓN: Sueño Recurrente

SAM COOKE: A Change Is Gonna Come

SCOTT JOPLIN: Prelude from Treemonisha, Bethena Waltz, Magnetic Rag, Maple Leaf Rag

MARGARET BONDS: Spiritual Suite

WILLIAM GRANT STILL: Summerland 

DUKE ELLINGTON: Come Sunday

GEORGE GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue

(Program is subject to change)

Generous support comes from the National Endowment for the Arts

Piano Series generously underwritten by Sven & Melinda Bitners and Sally Schaake Kincaid