Just when it seemed that Billboard Chart-topping pianist and cultural visionary Lara Downes’s dance card was filled to the margins with her many recordings, a new record label, and a regular video-conversations series, Classical KDFC (KUSC in the Los Angeles area) announces that she is joining their team as host and resident artist.
Evening Music with Lara Downes will air evenings at 8 p.m. Pacific starting Monday, March 8. According to a press release from KDFC/KUSC, Downes’s nightly show will include “classical music spanning centuries and styles, specially chosen and explored to reveal unique insights and context. Additionally, as the station’s first ever Resident Artist, Ms. Downes will curate and create new digital content that will engage the California community and give KDFC listeners a more in-depth look at the creativity and history that has shaped our musical lives.”
KDFC President Bill Lueth relayed the station’s excitement:
Lara is one of America’s great classical music curators. She seeks out classical music gems from our past and present and ensures they are heard. We are thrilled to have Lara share meaningful stories with our listeners about the classical music she loves with passion, curiosity, and joy. Her love of music and storytelling is infectious.”
Downes describes her new role at the iconic station this way:
Northern California is my home, and I grew up listening to KDFC. The station played a tremendous role in shaping who I am today, as a musician and human. I want to pay that forward, and make my contribution in spreading the joy and love of classical music; sharing stories that I hope will intrigue both classical music aficionados and those newly discovering the genre. I believe that music builds community, that it’s a gathering space for us to come together in shared experience and understanding. That’s a magical thing!”
