Lara Downes in Concert, Benefiting The Lippman School
Schultz Campus for Jewish Life/Shaw JCC
Akron, OH
June 1, 2015 at 7 p.m. Lara Downes will perform at 750 White Pond Drive, Akron, OH.
Pianist LARA DOWNES has been acclaimed for the "drama and nuance" of her playing (Washington Post) and her "gift for telling stories in a highly compressed form" (New York Times). Downes presents a program of music from her acclaimed recording Exiles' Café - works by composers whose music reflects the transformative passage of exile, the journey from what is left behind to what is discovered ahead, vanished worlds and altered lives, the fragility of destiny and the possibility of new beginnings. Exiles Café traces the Jewish diaspora through music by Kurt Weill, George Gershwin, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and considers the effects of exile on master composers including Frederic Chopin, Serge Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky.
This concert is a benefit for The Lippman School, a K-8 independent school with an education unsurpassed in the Greater Akron Area. It offers a global perspective and individual attention, featuring small classes, carefully selected teachers, and a fast-paced curriculum. With value added character development, international perspective and a robust sense of community, students easily connect with their peer group and gain confidence through a sense of belonging.
WHY LARA AND LIPPMAN?
Ruth Downes, Lara's mother, grew up in Akron and her family was very close with Goldie and Jerry Lippman. Ruth eventually moved to San Francisco and last saw Jerry when he lived in that area. Ruth learned about The Lippman School, the legacy that Jerry helped create and the Lippman-Kanfer family continues to nurture, and she suggested that her daughter might consider a benefit concert for the school. After touring the school last year, Lara enthusiastically agreed to perform on the campus on June 1, 2015. Interestingly, many of the themes of Lara's music are also found imbedded in curriculum and programmatic themes of The Lippman School.
Tune in to WCLV on Friday, July 3 at 2:00 to hear Lara on "First Fridays" with host Angela Mitchell.