As the United States of America marked its 250th anniversary this year, Lara Downes set out to explore its history through the prism of song. Traveling across the country for NPR's series America in Pursuit, she talked with scholars like cultural critic Imani Perry, historian Jill Lepore, and writer Adam Gopnik — often focusing on the layers within a single piece of music, and what it says about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
"I think one of my big motivations for starting this project was my own frustration about feeling like I did not know what people think," says Downes, who is both an acclaimed concert pianist and an accomplished broadcaster. "I think there are a lot of things we're not talking about, and a lot of things people would just keep to themselves."
She was speaking from a dean's office at Rowan University. This Friday evening, as part of the Marie Rader Presenting Series there, she'll take part in Sounds Like America, a concert and conversation with her longtime friend and collaborator Rihannon Giddens.
In advance of that event, I connected with Downes for a brief interview. We talked about what she learned from the series, what surprised her, and how the embrace of ambiguity lies at the heart of her work as an artist.
Sounds Like America with Lara Downes and Rhiannon Giddens takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, Pfleeger Concert Hall at Rowan University; purchase tickets.
