Lara Downes: The First LIGHT of a New Day, from Rising Sun Music - the first of a three-part focus on the Great Migration; Price, Bonds and Burleigh

https://vimeo.com/613760165/5b6066eb52

Lara Downes writes:

Happy Monday, with some new music!

I'm proud to share with you the release of LIGHT, from Rising Sun Music - the first of a three-part focus on the Great Migration. Stream the EP HERE.

This music tells the story of the millions of Black Americans who migrated out of the rural South, following a ray of light called hope in search of a better life. They left behind everything and everyone they knew. They took only what they could carry, the humblest of belongings. But what they brought with them—their dreams, their courage, their faith in a brighter tomorrow—transformed American life and culture in every possible way. 

Along with works by Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Henry T. Burleigh, and others, I'm thrilled that this series is bringing you world premiere recordings of works by two of today's most important young American composers: Carlos Simon and Jessie Montgomery.

Carlos' string quartet Warmth from Other Suns, performed by the Ivalas Quartet, comes in three monthly installments beginning with today's release.  Jessie's Starburst, in a phenomenal recording by The Knights, will drop on October 22.

Sign up HERE to be notified of each monthly release as it arrives!

Sending you much love and light-

Lara