Search
Brian Culbertson
March 22ndFlor de Toloache
April 1stFlor de Toloache
April 2ndMargo Cilker
April 2ndFlor de Toloache
April 3rdTinsley Ellis
April 9thA Word with Writers: Hampton Sides
April 10thTom Paxton with C. Daniel Boling
April 11thTom Paxton with C. Daniel Boling
April 12thThe Wailers
April 12thTom Paxton with C. Daniel Boling
April 13thCocoRosie
April 14thCocoRosie
April 15thSalman Rushdie
April 16thDamn Tall Buildings
April 17thDamn Tall Buildings
April 18thSanta Fe Reads Kick-Off Concert
April 20thSihasin & Lindy Vision
May 4thThe Kipsies
May 9thJason Joshua
May 9thJake Shimabukuro
May 10thThe Kipsies
May 11thJake Shimabukuro
May 11thKiran Ahluwalia
May 12thMariee Siou
May 12thKiran Ahluwalia
May 13thMike Zito
May 14thEtana
May 15thEtana
May 16thThe Sadies
May 30thChristopher Paul Stelling
June 6thChristopher Paul Stelling
June 7thJesse Dayton
June 8thLara Manzanares
June 13thRev. Peyton's Big Damn Band
June 19thFelix Gato Peralta
June 20thFelix Y Los Gatos
July 17thLara Manzanares
July 24thWailing Souls
August 15thAndrea Magee's She Rises
August 31stBlack Uhuru
September 12thPink Martini - SOLD OUT!
featuring China Forbes
at
The Lensic
Add to Cal
Tickets cost $65, $75 and $85 (plus applicable service charges). They are also available from the Lensic Box Office (505-988-1234).
"Pink Martini is a rollicking around-the-world musical adventure... if the United Nations had a house band in 1962, hopefully we'd be that band."
—Thomas Lauderdale, bandleader/pianist
In 1994 in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in politics, thinking that one day he would run for mayor. Like other eager politicians-in-training, he went to every political fundraiser under the sun... but was dismayed to find the music at these events underwhelming, lackluster, loud and un-neighborly. Drawing inspiration from music from all over the world—crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop—and hoping to appeal to conservatives and liberals alike, he founded the "little orchestra" Pink Martini in 1994 to provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks.
One year later, Lauderdale called China Forbes, a Harvard classmate who was living in New York City, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write songs together. Their first song "Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler)" became an overnight sensation in France, was nominated for "Song of the Year" at France's Victoires de la Musique Awards, and to this day remains a mantra ("Je ne veux pas travailler" or "I don't want to work") for striking French workers. Says Lauderdale, "We're very much an American band, but we spend a lot of time abroad and therefore have the incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent a broader, more inclusive America... the America which remains the most heterogeneously populated country in the world... composed of people of every country, every language, every religion."
Featuring a dozen musicians, with songs in 25 languages, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages on six continents. After making its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998, the band has gone on to play with more than 50 orchestras around the world, including multiple engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, the San Francisco Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the BBC Concert Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London. In 2014, Pink Martini was inducted into both the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.
Pink Martini has released 11 studio albums on its own independent label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale's dog), selling over 3 million albums worldwide. In 2019, the band released two EPs featuring the vocals of Pink Martini's newest members Jimmie Herrod and Edna Vazquez. Both vocalists have toured with the band for the past year and are officially part of the group with the release of Herrod's EP Tomorrow and Vaquez's Besame Mucho, both of which were co-produced by Thomas Lauderdale and China Forbes.