Lara Downes

Lara Downes

Lara Downes is an American classical pianist and cultural activist who has made the popularization of classical music by women and black Americans one of her causes. She was selected as the Classical Woman of the Year for 2022 by a poll of listeners to the radio program Performance Today.She is host of the NPR show AMPLIFY with Lara Downes and is an Artist Ambassador for Headcount, working to promote participation in democracy through music. On March 18, 2022, Downes was announced as the successor to the recently retired Jim Svejda. Since then, she has hosted "Evening Music", which can be heard Mondays-Fridays from 8 PM - midnight.

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