Lara Downes’ new digital recording: Rising Sun Music

Inspired by her own mixed-race heritage and career-long engagement with diverse musical traditions, pianist Lara Downes creates and curates a new digital recording venture, Rising Sun Music, that sheds a bright light on the music and stories of Black composers over the past 200 years. Featuring a wide range of leading instrumentalists and vocalists (including Ms. Downes) whose work defines the creative energy of this generation and the next, the series presents a new EP of music-each exploring a different theme -to be released the first Friday of every month starting February 5.

Rising Sun Music is distributed digitally worldwide by [PIAS] and available on all major streaming and download platforms including Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Primephonic, and Idagio.

Friday, February 5, 2021: Remember Me to Harlem

BENNY GOLSON: Classical Dreams – Lara Downes, piano
Eubie Blake: Love Will Find A Way – Lara Downes, piano
William Grant STILL: Song for the Lonely – Lara Downes, piano & Titus Underwood, oboe
Margaret Bonds/Langston Hughes: When the Dove Enters In – Lara Downes, piano & Davóne Tines, bass-baritone

Friday, March 5, 2021: Phenomenal Women

Hazel Scott: Peace of Mind – Lara Downes, piano
Margaret Bonds: What Lips My Lips Have Kissed – Lara Downes, piano & Nicole Cabell, soprano
NORA HOLT: Negro Dance – Lara Downes, piano
Florence Price: Andante con Espressione – Lara Downes, piano & Rachel Barton Pine, violin

Friday, April 2, 2021: Spring Fever

BETTY JACKSON KING: Spring Intermezzo – Lara Downes, piano
NKEIRU OKOYE: When Young Spring Comes – Lara Downes, piano
H. Leslie Adams: L’extase d’amour – Lara Downes, piano & Jordan Bak, viola
ALVIN SINGLETON (a BandQuest composer): Changing Faces – Lara Downes, piano