UB Center for the Arts to Present Pink Martini

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present Pink Martini at 8 p.m. on March 12 in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

"Pink Martini is like a romantic Hollywood musical of the 1940s or '50s -- but with a global perspective which is modern," says founder and artistic director Thomas M. Lauderdale. "We bring melodies and rhythms from different parts of the world together to create something which is new and beautiful."

The Portland, Oregon-based 'little orchestra' was founded in 1994 by Lauderdale, a Harvard graduate and classically trained pianist, to play political fundraisers for progressive causes such as civil rights, the environment, affordable housing and public broadcasting. In the years following Pink Martini grew from four musicians to its current 12, and has gone on to perform its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Canada and the United States.

The ensemble made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998 under the direction of Norman Leyden. Pink Martini has since performed with symphony orchestras across the country including four nights with the Boston Pops in 2005, multiple concerts with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in 2000, two nights with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on a co-bill with Sergio Mendes in 2002 and two nights headlining with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2005. Other prestigious appearances include the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's new Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with return sold-out engagements for New Year's Eve 2003 and 2004; the opening party of the New York Museum of Modern Art and the Kennedy Center.

Pink Martini's debut album, "Sympathique," was released independently in 1997 on the band's own label Heinz Records and quickly became an international phenomenon, garnering the group nominations for "Song of the Year" and "Best New Artist" in France's Victoires de la Musique Awards. Seven years later "Hang on Little Tomato" was released and climbed to No. 1 on Amazon.com's bestsellers list. Their most recent recording "Hey Eugene!" was released in 2007.

"Both (vocalist) China Forbes and I come from multicultural families," says founder and pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale, "and all of us in the band have studied different languages and music from different parts of the world. So inevitably, because everyone in the band contributes in the writing and arranging of songs, the repertoire is wildly diverse. At one moment, you feel like you're in the middle of a samba parade in Rio de Janeiro, and in the next moment, you are suddenly in a French music hall of the 1930s or in a palazzo in Napoli. It's like an urban musical travelogue."

He continues, "One of our goals is to make music which has broad appeal to people, no matter who they are or where they come from. We play the same set of music wherever we go, whether it's in a small farming community in Oregon or in France or Turkey or with a symphony orchestra. My hope is that we're creating music which can be turned up or down, and played on almost any occasion, from background music of a love affair to vacuuming around the house," Lauderdale says.

Tickets for Pink Martini are $30, students $22. Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS. Students (of any school) must present valid student ID at the Center Box Office to receive discount.