Lara Downes, pianist: Home
"A unique blend of musicianship
and showmanship" - NPR
Why do I make music?
Because music is my voice in the world. I don’t know a better way to open ears, hearts and minds, to break down borders and barriers, and to preserve a space for beauty in our noisy, chaotic world.
Because it's a new day. It's a thrilling time to be making music for new audiences, in new ways, in new spaces, using new perspectives, references and technologies to expand the possibilities of the concert experience - to make that experience, itself, into a new kind of art.
Because I want my audiences to find new ways to hear music, think about music, talk about music. By drawing connections between life and art, I create living landscapes out of music, words and images, a multi-sensory environment to explore the situations and inspirations that bring the music to life.
Because music tells stories. I discover and share those stories with my audiences. Music heard within the context of its history, the life and times of its composer, and the story of its inspiration, can resonate with your own experiences of the world around you and the world of your own imagination.
Because I love performing, in a glamorous concert hall, a club, or a 3rd-grade classroom. I love the electricity between my audience and me, the give and take of energy in the room. I love the exhilarating, exhausting feeling of playing my heart out, and the rush when an audience jumps to its feet at the end. I love the element of danger, and the high of a great performance. I even love walking out of the stage door late at night, tired and hungry, knowing I’m going to do it all again tomorrow.
Because where I want to be is out here on the front lines making the world safe for classical music, one note at a time. Whether I’m at home in my studio or out on the road, packing or unpacking, doing my scales or doing my laundry, day in and day out, my life is a life in music.
-Lara