Pianist is artist-in-residence in spring

The School of Music and Dance (SOMD) and the Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) welcome pianist and activist Lara Downes as artist-in-residence during spring term with cosponsorship by the OHC’s Endowment for Public Outreach in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities. Downes will teach MUS 408/508 Audience Engagement, and will participate in three public events.

We are living through a time of transformation, reckoning, and reimagining—joining together in a historic cultural shift towards greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts. As a performer and activist, Downes shines a light on the visionary work that will define the next stage of this journey. 

The Audience Engagement class aims to train music students how to engage with audiences through public speaking and designing interactive performances. Downes will teach this course with inclusion as the focus point for audience engagement. 

Downes will give a talk “Uncovering Lost Treasures” on Friday, April 23, 2021 at 2 p.m. online for the SOMD’s THEME colloquium series. She will speak about her experience discovering unknown music by composer Florence Price, and her collaboration with musicologist J. Michael Cooper.

Downes will give an OBF concert preview “Holes in the Sky” on Friday, May 7, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. online. As part of OBF’s virtual 2021 season, she will present a virtual concert “Holes in the Sky,” a project that celebrates the power of female creativity. The concert will feature newly discovered works by Florence Price and other women composers.

On Wednesday, May 19 and Friday, May 21, 2021 Downes will participate in a master class and discussion “Music by Black Female Composers” at 10 a.m. online. These workshops will involve students from a piano pedagogy class and teachers from the Eugene chapter of the Oregon Music Teachers Association.

Register. For more information go to music.uoregon.edu.