Pianist, curator, and NPR host Lara Downes is launching a multi-format national initiative titled The Declaration Project to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. Over the past two years, Downes traveled to big cities, school classrooms, community centers, and radio stations across the country to gather perspectives on contemporary American identity. The initiative uses music and public dialogue to explore complex, human stories about the nation’s past, present, and future direction.
The central live expression of this work will debut in Manhattan with a performance titled Declaration: Songs of Democracy, Voices of Hope. The concert is scheduled for July 1st at David Geffen Hall as part of the Lincoln Center Presents Summer for the City series. The evening features Downes as a piano soloist alongside the American Composers Orchestra under the direction of conductor Eric Jacobsen.
The Lincoln Center program includes three world premieres commissioned around the founding promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These new compositions include Valerie Coleman’s “Life,” Arturo O’Farrill’s “Liberty,” and Christopher Tin’s “The Pursuit of Happiness.” A wide circle of guest artists spanning classical, jazz, folk, bluegrass, cabaret, and gospel music will join the performance, including Christian McBride, Kurt Elling, Aoife O’Donovan, and the Tuskegee University Golden Voices Concert Choir.
The presentation will also integrate documentary materials and video portraits captured during Downes’s travels across the country. These multi-media elements bring the actual voices and reflections of students, elders, and strangers directly into the concert hall. The goal of the curated programming is to transform the stage into a shared gathering space that reflects the varied contradictions and hopes of citizens nationwide.
On July 3rd, the project expands with the release of a new album titled Hold These Truths, published under the Pentatone label. The recording spans American musical history, featuring older traditional spirituals alongside modern compositions by artists like Carlos Simon and Ricky Ian Gordon. The tracks are interspersed with spoken reflections gathered from project participants in New York, Tuskegee, and Cambridge.
The initiative continues throughout the summer with several additional high-profile regional residencies and public media features. Downes presented an opening performance at the Aspen Ideas Festival on June 25th and has scheduled a follow-up concert at MASS MoCA on July 18th. The ongoing conversations with prominent scholars and thinkers will also broadcast through America in Pursuit, a dedicated series on NPR.
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