L.A. Chamber Orchestra Announces Appointment of Pianist, Producer/Curator and Media Personality Lara Downes as Orchestra’s First-Ever Creative Partner

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Music Director Jaime Martín have announced the appointment of Lara Downes as the Orchestra’s first Creative Partner. Downes is a decorated pianist, recording artist and media personality who is deeply committed to change and advocacy in the arts. Her three-year appointment, beginning July 1, 2024, touches virtually every aspect of the organization, spanning LACO’s artistic planning, performance, community engagement, advocacy, and education platforms. In addition to her new LACO responsibilities, Downes, who is based in Northern California, will continue her other independent performance, broadcasting, and recording activities. Her upcoming album THIS LAND (Pentatone, August 23, 2024) is a powerful, soulful and probing reflection, at a critical American moment, on the diversity of stories and journeys that have converged and collided throughout our history. With music ranging from traditional folk tunes to newly commissioned works, Downes celebrates the beauty of the American experiment while offering an unflinching acknowledgment of its flaws and failings, ultimately embracing the power of hope and humanity as a pathway to common ground and a brighter future.

Downes is a familiar voice on the radio in Southern California as the host of Evening Music on KUSC and is the creator and host of NPR’s video series Amplify with Lara Downes, as well as the nationally syndicated program Classical Americana, produced by Classical California/KUSC.

Martín says, “On behalf of everyone at LACO, I am thrilled to welcome Lara Downes as the Orchestra’s first Creative Partner. An iconoclastic artist and beloved radio host with millions of followers on air, online, and in the concert hall, she is deeply passionate about classical music and ensuring its access to all communities. Her unique perspective and out-of-the-box thinking dovetails with LACO’s own mission to advance the chamber music art form, building upon its remarkable foundation. I look forward to collaborating with her both on stage and behind the scenes on LACO’s artistic, education and community-building endeavors.”

Downes states, “I’m so delighted and excited to join LACO as the Orchestra’s Creative Partner, a unique role that harnesses all my interests and energies across a broad landscape of performance, curation, community engagement, education, and advocacy. LACO’s visionary programming travels the long road of our art form – wide-open territory for my own artistic explorations of the musical crossroads where past meets present, where traditions merge, journeys converge, and new ideas take root. I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and work with Jaime Martín and LACO’s brilliant musicians, staff, and friends as we continue together to create innovative, intimate, and inspiring musical experiences that welcome the communities of Los Angeles and the world beyond.”

Among the scope of Downes’ responsibilities, she will serve in a creative advisory capacity to Martín, perform on and/or curate selected programs, help identify and mentor LACO’s Sound Investment composer each year, participate in the advancement of the prestigious Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Fellowship, and represent LACO in the national arts and culture field.

During the 2024-25 season, Downes makes her LACO mainstage debut performing Florence Price’s Piano Concerto under Martín’s baton.

She also curates CURRENT: Routes, the first of two CURRENT programs exploring unexpected musical connections across the Americana landscape. Downes’ colorful description of the concert paints a vivid picture of her unique creative approach, “Routes follows the highways and byways of American music, making surprising roadside discoveries and detours to the crossroads where musical traditions merge and transform. We’ll explore the roots of the folk tunes that Aaron Copland used to paint his vibrant portraits of the Wild West; connect with the rural San Gabriel Valley childhood of American maverick Roy Harris; and trace the routes of the Great Migration in the music of William Grant Still, who started his American journey in Jim Crow Mississippi and ended it in the bohemian, granola glam of 1970s Los Angeles.”

For information about LACO, please visit www.laco.org or call 213 221 3920.