Lara Downes

LOVE WILL FIND A WAY is one of the great hits of the 1920's - an era of remarkable cultural growth giving rise to 'The Roaring 20's,' 'The Harlem Renaissance,' and a fun-loving society known for the C...

Deeply inspired by the music and mission of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Nathaniel Dett's piano music springs from the late Romantic traditions of florid texture and embellishment, along with programmatic...

Adapted by acclaimed pianist Lara Downes from the original work “Especially Do I Believe in the Negro Race” by Margaret Bonds. This is the lyrical second movement from Bonds’ larger work, “Credo” on t...

NORA'S DANCE is a jazz-influenced rag from 1921, and among the only surviving compositions by Nora Douglas Holt. A charming and exciting work rejuvenated by Lara Downes' 2021 recording for the Rising...

Best known for his settings of spirituals and influence on Dvorák; Henry T. Burleigh was a celebrated baritone; and a prolific composer of original works. This suite of six atmospheric scenes of the A...