Join trailblazing pianist Lara Downes, with host Clemency Burton Hill of WQXR and special guests soprano Leah Crocetto and cellist Sophia Bacelar, to celebrate the launch of Holes in the Sky, Downes' new Sony Masterworks collection of music celebrating the contributions of phenomenal women to the past, present, and future of American music.
"A charming selection of pieces by some powerful composers - a celebration of otherness, as well as an act of repatriation” - The Washington Post
"Expect glamour with substance" - WQXR
This music tells the story of what women and girls can contribute to the world when they are given a chance - their dreams can make holes in the sky.
This festive evening of music, conversation and a champagne reception is presented in support of The Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York, breaking the cycle of poverty by training the next generation of ethical, entrepreneurial, and environmental leaders.
Ticket includes a signed copy of the album!
Event generously supported by Yamaha Artist Services, New York.
ABOUT HOLES IN THE SKY
Iconoclastic pianist Lara Downes is a trailblazer on and off-stage, following a musical roadmap that seeks inspiration from the legacies of history, family, and collective memory. Downes’ playing has been called "luscious, moody and dreamy” by The New York Times, and "addicting" by The Huffington Post. As a chart-topping recording artist and a powerfully charismatic performer, she is recognized as a cultural visionary on the national arts scene. Her forays into the broad landscape of American music have created a series of acclaimed recordings, including America Again, selected by NPR as one of "10 Albums that Saved 2016", and hailed as "a balm for a country riven by disunion" by the Boston Globe.
Her newest release, Holes in the Sky is a genre-fluid collection of music celebrating the contributions of phenomenal women to the past, present, and future of American music. Inspired by a quote from the maverick artist Georgia O’Keeffe – “I want music that makes holes in the sky” - Lara brings together a multi-generational constellation of extraordinary female guest artists including the iconic singer / songwriter Judy Collins, boundary-breaking violinist Rachel Barton Pine, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, fast-rising cellist Ifetayo Ali-Landing, and the urban youth vocal ensemble Musicality.
Downes writes: “When I make music with other women, I feel a kinship, a common history that brought us here. We have freedoms beyond any of our ancestors – even the mothers who raised us. We have very little, in the scope of things, to hold us down. But still, I think, we feel the weight of the past. Still we rise ... It feels like such a privilege to pay tribute to the women who preceded us, the pioneers ahead of their time. The ones who dared to want real things, to reach into the sky. Their courage is the ground we walk on. And it feels like a celebration of our own freedom - hard won, still gaining - to make beauty in the world, to take risks and move out ahead of our own time, with the courage that is our legacy - the courage to reach for real things, to dream as big as we can, and to share this music that makes holes in the sky.”
ABOUT HOLES IN THE SKY
Iconoclastic pianist Lara Downes is a trailblazer on and off-stage, following a musical roadmap that seeks inspiration from the legacies of history, family, and collective memory. Downes’ playing has been called "luscious, moody and dreamy” by The New York Times, and "addicting" by The Huffington Post. As a chart-topping recording artist and a powerfully charismatic performer, she is recognized as a cultural visionary on the national arts scene. Her forays into the broad landscape of American music have created a series of acclaimed recordings, including America Again, selected by NPR as one of "10 Albums that Saved 2016", and hailed as "a balm for a country riven by disunion" by the Boston Globe.
Her newest release, Holes in the Sky is a genre-fluid collection of music celebrating the contributions of phenomenal women to the past, present, and future of American music. Inspired by a quote from the maverick artist Georgia O’Keeffe – “I want music that makes holes in the sky” - Lara brings together a multi-generational constellation of extraordinary female guest artists including the iconic singer / songwriter Judy Collins, boundary-breaking violinist Rachel Barton Pine, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, fast-rising cellist Ifetayo Ali-Landing, and the urban youth vocal ensemble Musicality.
Downes writes: “When I make music with other women, I feel a kinship, a common history that brought us here. We have freedoms beyond any of our ancestors – even the mothers who raised us. We have very little, in the scope of things, to hold us down. But still, I think, we feel the weight of the past. Still we rise ... It feels like such a privilege to pay tribute to the women who preceded us, the pioneers ahead of their time. The ones who dared to want real things, to reach into the sky. Their courage is the ground we walk on. And it feels like a celebration of our own freedom - hard won, still gaining - to make beauty in the world, to take risks and move out ahead of our own time, with the courage that is our legacy - the courage to reach for real things, to dream as big as we can, and to share this music that makes holes in the sky.”
