Lara Downes: Long Time Coming
Pianist Lara Downes has captivated audiences around the world with her charismatic energy, breathtaking virtuosity and visionary programming. Composer David Sanford has been called "the real thing, a composer in the American tradition of brash, open eared exploration." Together they've created a new multimedia concert work celebrating the convergence of American music and culture - LONG TIME COMING.
LONG TIME COMING features piano masterpieces by Duke Ellington and the world premiere of an original work for piano, Spoken Word artist and jazz ensemble or full orchestra by David Sanford. Created as a modern day response to Ellington's iconic fantasy suite "New World A Comin," Mr. Sanford's new composition draws inspiration from multiple musical genres to synthesize the diverse racial and cultural traditions that define contemporary American music - classical, jazz, R&B/funk, hip-hop and others. A background of projected images creates a moving landscape through a century of American life, and the live spoken words of a young urban poet, interwoven throughout the piece, reflect on the power of hope in troubled times.
LONG TIME COMING presents these two works together - the old and the new - to highlight the impact of music on the collective consciousness, and the interrelationship of American music to the progression of civil rights and social justice in an ever-changing world.
