Classical Americana

Series produced by Classical California

Caption: Lara Downes
Lara Downes 

What’s the defining sound of American classical music? What people, stories, sights and sounds throughout American history built our unique classical tradition, and where does it go from here? On the premiere season of Classical Americana, iconoclastic pianist Lara Downes drives you down the highways and byways of American music, with roadside discoveries and detours to the crossroads where musical traditions merge and transform.

Pianist Lara Downes was named 2022 Classical Woman of the Year by Performance Today. A sought-after performer, Billboard Chart-topping recording artist, producer, curator, activist, and arts advocate, she has been called “an explorer whose imagination is fired by bringing notice to the underrepresented and forgotten”. She’s Classical California’s Resident Artist, and the Evening Host from 8PM to Midnight on KUSC-Los Angeles and KDFC-San Francisco.


3 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Lara Downes
This week on Classical Americana travel with Aaron Copland to the Wild West. Discover nostalgic settings of traditional spirituals by the foremost ...

  • Added: Dec 06, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
Caption: Lara Downes
This week on Classical Americana: Great American composers who transformed the sound of American classical music by bringing the music and lived ex...

  • Added: Dec 06, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
Caption: Lara Downes
This week we’re heading to a region where the musical soil is fertile and the blue moon shines bright. Host Lara Downes explores Kentucky’s classic...

  • Added: Dec 06, 2023
  • Length: 59:00