Lara Downes
Lara Downes writes:
From my house to yours...
I hope you’re safe and well, taking care of yourselves and each other. I miss you all.
This
has been a terrible week in a series of terrible weeks. I know we're
all struggling amidst so much hurt and suffering. I'm just holding on
to good and meaningful work, trying to help where I can, and to use this
as a time to reflect, reimagine and rebuild.
Today, NPR Music is sharing a Tiny Desk
Concert that I filmed at home during quarantine, featuring some music
from my new album Some Of These Days.
During this sad time, I admit to feeling
sometimes helpless. But I won't be hopeless. This music - freedom songs
and Spirituals - testifies to our human capacity for hope, action, and
survival against all odds. NPR's Ann Powers describes the album this
way: “This lyrical, evocative set un-starches the musical
artifacts of African-American uplift. The pianist approaches spirituals,
hymns and legacy pieces with a passion grounded in the knowledge that
history is personal: each interpretation deeply reckons with what made
her.” (NPR's Top Albums of April)
>From the album booklet, artwork by 7th grade student Emily Juarez from Watts, Los Angeles:
I believe with all my heart that Emily and
her generation will bring our world to a better place. This summer, with
the support of the Sphinx Organization, and in partnership with
University of California ArtsBridge, I'm expanding My Promise Project as
a national online platform for young people to harness their potential
and their creativity as they reimagine the future and prepare to emerge
as its leaders.
Free summer workshops begin June 22 for students age 12-18. Information / Signups HERE. http://www.laradownes.com/my-promise-project
And next week, I'm launching a new series called THE BEDTIME SESSIONS.
Every Friday, starting June 5, I'll be releasing a lullaby to soothe
you into sleep and peaceful dreams. I know we’re all dealing with stress
and trauma, and I hope that this eclectic collection of lovely,
intimate pieces will help you rest. Sign up HERE to get a new streaming track every Friday.
I'm
just thinking about gratitude and responsibility. I'm so grateful for
my health, my family, the love that surrounds and supports me, and for
the music that even now, in this time of isolation and division, keeps
us connected. And I think that we all have a responsibility to love each
other, to do our own version of service, to raise our voices for what's
right, and above all to hold on to our hope. I do believe that
together we shall overcome, that we can emerge from this darkness brighter and better, stronger and wiser, some of these days...
I'm sending you all my love-
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