Lara Downes

with special guests THOMAS HAMPSON and SEAN SHIBE

THIS LAND

Iconoclastic pianist and cultural visionary Lara Downes presents THIS LAND, a probing, nuanced reflection on the kaleidoscopic diversity of stories and journeys that have converged and collided throughout American history, reflecting on the independent and innovative essence of American music and traveling back to its blended roots in Europe and Africa. An artist renowned for her musical explorations off the beaten path, Lara is joined by two fellow PENTATONE artists, the legendary American baritone Thomas Hampson and the Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe, recipient of the 2022 Leonard Bernstein Award and the 2023 OPUS Klassik Award.

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, Downes and her guests celebrate the beauty of the American experiment, originating with the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, while also offering an unflinching acknowledgement of the country’s flaws and failings, and ultimately embracing the power of hope and humanity as a pathway forward to common ground and a brighter future. 

THIS LAND explores the musical manifestation of the American promise, often expressed by those who have had to fight the hardest to attain it, through works that span a century and represent many different journeys, many versions of being and becoming American.

PROGRAM

William Benton Overstreet: There’ll Be Some Changes Made

Kian Ravaei: Variations on “This Land is Your Land” *

Aaron Copland: Long Time Ago; The Boatman’s Dance; Simple Gifts (with Thomas Hampson)

Duke Ellington: New World A-Comin’

Valerie Coleman: Life*

Leonard Bernstein: Some Other Time; Lucky To Be Me (with Thomas Hampson)

Samuel Coleridge Taylor: Deep River

Margaret Bonds: Spiritual Suite

Joseph C. Phillips, Jr: Never Has Been Yet *

Michael Begay: Adéihozhdílzin / Know Who You Are *

Traditional: 900 Miles (with Sean Shibe)

Jake Heggie: Facing Forward *

Scott Joplin: Prelude from Treemonisha; Magnetic Rag; The Chrysanthemum; Bethena ; Maple Leaf Rag (with Sean Shibe)

Kurt Weill: My Ship (with Thomas Hampson)

George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

Trad: Amazing Grace (with Thomas Hampson and Sean Shibe)

* composed for Lara Downes