Event Details
Join The Cabin and the Boise Philharmonic for a part-concert, part-conversation with NPR host and classically-trained pianist Lara Downes as she speaks with The New Yorker author Adam Gopnik about the musical kaleidoscope of America.
In a musical conversation developed for her NPR series "America in Pursuit", renowned pianist and thought leader Lara Downes presents an evening with essayist, author, and long-time staff writer for The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik, the musical expression of American optimism and patriotism by immigrants to our country, expressed in the music of composers including Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. Exploring our nation’s story through its music, Downes and Gopnik share iconic songs from ”Rhapsody in Blue” to “Blue Skies” and “Over the Rainbow,” tracing our history and celebrating our shared hopes and struggles. This program invites audiences to find common ground and shared purpose in imagining the possibilities of the American future.
This event will be on Wednesday, January 13, at 7:00 PM (doors at 6:00 PM) at the Egyptian Theatre in Boise (700 W. Main Street, Boise, ID, 83702).
This event is part of our The Cabin Presents series in partnership with the Boise Philharmonic.
Tickets
About the Pianist and Author
Lara Downes is an American pianist who has been called “a musical ray of hope” by NBC News. Her latest release, This Land, was featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, in The Wall Street
Journal, and elsewhere. Besides her visibility as a performer and Billboard chart-topping recording artist, Downes is the creator and host of the popular NPR show AMPLIFY with Lara Downes and boasts 100,000-plus weekly listeners to her nationally syndicated radio programs. A sought-after piano soloist, Downes has performed with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Louisville, and Indianapolis, with recitals and residencies at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Disney Hall, and many other places.
Adam Gopnik has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1986. He has also published 11 books, including Paris to the Moon, The King in the Window, Through the Children’s Gate. His work in the musical theater includes the libretto and lyrics for the musical comedies Our Table with David Shire and Fairy Tale and Looking Glass with Andrew Lippa. His one man show, Adam Gopnik’s New York, was called “hilarious and wise” by the New York Times and ran for three weeks at New York’s Lincoln Center, and he and it are now on tour from London to California. Among many honors, he has won the National Magazine Award for Essays and for Criticism three times and was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Letters in 2025.