Pink Martini Featuring China Forbes

ENSEMBLE ARTS PHILLY, IN ASSOCIATION
 WITH BRE PRESENTS,
WELCOMES BACK GENRE-DEFYING,
LITTLE ORCHESTRA

PINK MARTINI FEATURING CHINA FORBES,
 NOVEMBER 2, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (October 7, 2024) – Ensemble Arts Philly, in association with BRE Presents, is thrilled to announce the return of globe-trotting musical ensemble Pink Martini featuring China Forbes in Marian Anderson Hall on November 2, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. A self-described “little orchestra” with a big impact, Pink Martini is celebrating their astounding musical journey on their 30th anniversary tour. This show is part of Ensemble Arts Philly’s 2024-25 Jazz Season.

Pink Martini with lead singer China Forbes bring their captivating fusion of pop, jazz, and classical music to the stage for a genre-defying evening of music band leader Thomas Lauderdale calls a “rollicking around-the-world-musical adventure.” Featuring a sizzling 12-piece ensemble and dazzling international repertoire, Pink Martini cuts across pop, jazz and classical genres to celebrate the world’s musical diversity with a hypnotic sound. After more than 30 years and eleven albums, the band crafted a style that is entirely unique and is hailed as an international sensation.

“Pink Martini return as part of our 2024-25 Jazz Season, a lineup boasting new and seasoned artists moving the art form forward,” said Frances Egler, Vice President of Theatrical Programming and Presentations. “Audiences should prepare for an exuberant concert experience, a joyous celebration of global music, told via Pink Martini’s unique and standout tunes.”

ABOUT PINK MARTINI:
In 1994 in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in local politics, attending every political fundraiser under the sun… but was dismayed to find the music at these events underwhelming and lackluster. 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 as the lead singer and collaborator. 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 is still the band’s number one song. 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 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. In 2024 the band is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Pink Martini featuring China Forbes’ performance is a part of Ensemble Arts Philly’s 2024-25 Jazz Series. Other featured upcoming performances include Afro-Cuban All Stars (October 19, 2024, Miller Theater); Boney James (November 9, 2024, Miller Theater); Django Festival All-Stars (November 16, 2024, Perelman Theater); Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band (November 29, 2024, Perelman Theater); Samara Joy: Joyful Holiday featuring the McLendon Family (December 23, 2024, Marian Anderson Hall); Somi (May 9, 2025, Perelman Theater), and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (June 15, 2025, Marian Anderson Hall).

Tickets
Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999 or online at www.ensembleartsphilly.org. In-person ticket sales can be conducted daily from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. at the Academy of Music Box Office, located at 240 S. Broad Street. See www.ensembleartsphilly.org for more information.

Pink Martini featuring China Forbes
Marian Anderson Hall
Saturday, November 2, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. 

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ABOUT ENSEMBLE ARTS PHILLY
For more information about ENSEMBLE ARTS PHILLY, visit www.ensembleartsphilly.org.    

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For photography, please visit www.ensembleartsphilly.smugmug.com 
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