SAN ANTONIO, TX (March 25) Get ready to be swept away by the enchanting melodies of Pink Martini, the internationally renowned “little orchestra”, and China Forbes. Witness the wonderful blend of music that transcends genres in a one-night-only performance in the H-E-B Performance Hall on March 20, 2024, at 7:30 PM.
Tickets will go on sale on September 29 and can be purchased online at tobincenter.org, via phone (210) 223-8624 or in-person at The Tobin Center Box Office (100 Auditorium Circle, 78205). Box Office hours are Monday-Friday 10a-6p and Saturday, 10a-2p.
About Pink Martini
In 1994, in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in politics, thinking he would run for mayor one day. 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. His aim? To provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers supporting 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 living in New York City, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write songs together. Their first, “Sympathique,” was an overnight sensation in France and was nominated for Song of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique Awards. To this day, it remains a mantra for striking workers:”Je ne veux pas travailler (I don’t want to work)”.Pink Martini has sold well over 3 million albums worldwide on their own independent label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog).In 2016, Pink Martini released its ninth studio album, Je dis oui!, which features vocals from China Forbes, Storm Large, Ari Shapiro, fashion guru Ikram Goldman, civil rights activist Kathleen Saadat, and Rufus Wainwright. The album’s 15tracks span eight languages (French, Farsi, Armenian, Portuguese, Arabic, Turkish, Xhosa and English), and affirm the band’s history of global inclusivity and collaborative spirit. In 2019, Pink Martini collaborated on a new release with the international singing sensation Meow Meow, entitled Hotel Amour, and also released two 5-song EPs, Besame Mucho, featuring regular guest singer Edna Vazquez, and Tomorrow, featuring regular guest singer Jimmie Herrod, a finalist on 2021’s season of NBC’s America’s Got Talent. During their pandemic hiatus, the band released two new digital singles written by Thomas Lauderdale, China Forbes, and producer Jim Bianco, “Let’s Be Friends,” and “The Lemonade Song,” which has over 10 million streams on Spotify alone. Featuring more than a dozen musicians, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire throughout the world. 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.” The band made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony the following year. Since then, Pink Martini has played with more than 50 orchestras internationally, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Pops, National Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and the BBC Concert Orchestra at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Other appearances include a performance at the official post-Oscars celebration Governors Ball, four sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall, the opening party of the remodeled Museum of Modern Artin New York, multiple sell-outs and a festival opening at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and multiple appearances, including sellouts, at the Hollywood Ball and Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. In its 20th year, Pink Martini was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. In 2023, the band is celebrating its 29thyear of performing
About China Forbes
China Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and graduated cum laude from Harvard, majoring in Visual Arts and English Literature with a minor in Theater. After winning the Jonathan Levy Prize at Harvard for “Most Promising Actor,” Forbes earned her equity card appearing in New York regional theater and off-Broadway productions while also performing regularly as a singer/songwriter in NYC clubs. Her first album Love Handle (November Records) was released in 1995 and she was chosen to sing “Ordinary Girl,” the theme song to the TV show Clueless (ABC/UPN).
Also, in 1995, Harvard friend and classmate Thomas Lauderdale invited her to sing in Portland, Oregon band Pink Martini, and she has fronted the little orchestra ever since. Co-writing many of Pink Martini’s most beloved songs with Lauderdale beginning with “Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler), the duo also composed “Lilly”, “Hang on Little Tomato,” Una Notte a Napoli,” and “Let’s Never Stop Falling in Love,” among many others. In 2000, “Sympathique” was nominated for song of the year at (the French Grammy Awards) Les Victoires de la Musique.
Forbes’s original song “Hey Eugene” is the title track of Pink Martini’s third album and also appears on her second solo album 78 (Heinz Records), a collection of autobiographical folk-rock songs. Her voice and songs have been featured prominently on acclaimed film and television soundtracks such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Weekend Away, Emily in Paris, Parks and Rec, Money Heist, Sherlock, and season two of The White Lotus. She sings “Que Sera, Sera” of Jane Champion’s film In the Cut, and her original song “The Northern Line’ plays over the end credits of sister Maya Forbes’ directorial debut Infinitely Polar Bear (Sony Pictures Classics).
With Pink Martini, Forbes has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Later with Jools Holland. She has duetted with legendary artists including Rufus Wainwright, Michael Feinstein, Carol Channing, and Little Jimmy Scott. Singing in over 20 languages on nine Pink Martini studio albums, China and Pink Martini have graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, Red Rocks, The Hollywood Bowl, Paris’s l’Olympia, the Sydney Opera House, and Royal Albert Hall.
Last year, China Forbes released her post-pandemic anthem “Full Circle” followed by her suicide prevention album “Rise,” both singles from her third solo album, slated for release in September 2023. She is the recipient of the 2022 Ella Fitzgerald Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival; previous winners include Diana Ross, Etta James, Liza Minelli, Diana Krall, and Aretha Franklin.
