In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday earlier this week, renowned pianist and cultural visionary Lara Downes has released a live recording of "I Believe in the Prince of Peace, Credo No. 5" on the Rising Sun label. This powerful work, which is the fifth movement of Margaret Bonds’ monumental Credo, is inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois’ 1904 prose poem, and it resonates, in this present moment of intense global conflict, as a profound call for peace, unity, and hope.
Recorded live at Walt Disney Concert Hall in April 2024, with Downes (as piano soloist) joining the renowned Los Angeles Master Chorale under Grant Gershon, this release captures a historic moment—the first major performance of Bonds’ Credo since its 1972 premiere by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, just weeks after the composer’s death from a stroke at age 59. The performance underscores the enduring relevance of Bonds’ masterpiece, bridging past and present in the ongoing struggle for equality and justice.
Watch the live performance of “I Believe in the Prince of Peace, Credo No. 5” here:
Margaret Bonds, one of the most trailblazing Black composers of the 20th century, wrote her Credo at the height of the Civil Rights movement. By using the seminal words of W.E.B. Du Bois as the text of this monumental choral masterpiece, she captured the hopes and struggles of the 20th-century Black American experience, crafting music that continues to resonate deeply in our own time.
Lara Downes has dedicated her career to shining light on historically under-represented voices in classical music, called “an explorer whose imagination is fired by bringing notice to the underrepresented and forgotten” by The Log Journal. Known for her powerful storytelling through music, she occupies a unique position of visibility in American music through her dynamic work as a sought-after soloist, a Billboard Chart-topping recording artist, and a nationally beloved radio presenter.
Earlier this week at Joe’s Pub in NYC, Downes hosted a special concert that explored themes of the American past and present, honoring Dr. King on what would have been his 96th birthday. She was joined by her friends Brian Stokes Mitchell, Helga Davis, Arturo O’Farrill, Samora Pinderhughes, Martha Redbone, Vuyo Sotashe, and Curtis Stewart, in a collective response to our current American moment.
Downes’ recently published essay on NPR reflects on Martin Luther King Jr.’s enduring dream and the profound role of music in shaping history, fostering resistance, and inspiring hope. Drawing on iconic moments like the March on Washington, Downes explores how artists have shown up through history’s darkest moments, using music as a powerful force for unity and change.
In March, she will make her debut at the iconoclastic Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, performing “Rhapsody in Blue Reimagined” with the Knoxville Symphony https://bigearsfestival.org/event/lara-downes-knoxville-symphony-orches…. Additional 2025 highlights include performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra in May. https://www.laradownes.com/tour
Downes’ latest studio album - This Land - on the Pentatone label, is a soulful and probing reflection, at a critical American moment, on the diversity of stories and journeys that have converged and collided throughout history. It blends traditional folk tunes with newly commissioned works and a personal audio essay, Downes celebrates the American experiment's beauty while acknowledging its flaws, ultimately embracing hope and humanity as pathways to a brighter future. It features works by Paul Simon, George Gershwin, Arturo O’Farrill, Woody Guthrie (reimagined by Kian Ravaei), Joseph C. Phillips, Jr. William Benton Overstreet, and Jake Heggie.
Lara Downes founded the Rising Sun Music label in 2021 as a digital platform for new recordings of music by historically under-represented Black composers. The project was supported by a generous grant from the Sphinx Organization, and has received national acclaim for its transformational impacts in the classical music sphere.
