listener’s guide 2020 - 2021 SEASON Celebrating 100 Years PINK MARTINI Saturday, May 8, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 2 p.m. Holland Performing Arts Center Thomas Wilkins, conductor | Pink Martini, band Thomas Lauderdale - piano, bandleader; Storm Large - lead vocals Gavin Bondy - trumpet; Robert Taylor - trombone; Timothy Nishimoto - backing vocals and percussion Nicholas Crosa - violin; Phil Baker - upright bass; Dan Faehnle - guitar; Reinhardt Melz - drums Andrew Borger- percussion; Brian Davis - percussion; Jimmie Herrod - guest vocals ERNESTO LECUONA Andalucia ATAULPHO ALVAS Tempo Perdido MAX KOLPÉ, LOTAR OLIAS, AND KARL VIBACH Ich dich liebe (Saturday Only) *Band Selection (Sunday Only) MANUEL JIMÉNEZ ¿Donde estas, Yolanda? ERNEST GOLD AND PAT BOONE Exodus Ov sirun sirun FRANZ SCHUBERT/ARR. PINK MARTINI And Then You’re Gone / But Now I’m Back ROBERT TAYLOR AND THOMAS LAUDERDALE The Flying Squirrel CHINA FORBES AND THOMAS LAUDERDALE Let’s Never Stop Falling in Love PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY/ Splendor in the Grass ALEX MARASHIAN AND THOMAS LAUDERDALE ANONYMOUS/PINK MARTINI Zundoko-bushi RICHARD RODGERS AND LORENZ HART Lady is a Tramp from Babes in Arms ALBA CLEMENTE, CHINA FORBES AND Una Notte a Napoli THOMAS LAUDERDALE MARTIN CHERNIN AND CHARLES STROUSE Tomorrow from Annie HAROLD ARLEN AND TED KOEHLER/ Get Happy/Happy Days MILTON AGER AND JACK YELLEN *setlist subject to change PINK MARTINI In 1994 in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in politics, with the intention of eventually running for office. 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 people across the political spectrum, he founded the “little orchestra” Pink Martini in 1994 to provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers and causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, cleaning up the Willamette River, funding for libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks. Featuring a dozen musicians with songs in 25 languages, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America and North America. Pink Martini made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998 under the direction of Norman Leyden. Since then, the band has gone on to play with more than 70 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, the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House, and the BBC Concert Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London. 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. In 2019, Thomas Lauderdale and members of Pink Martini collaborated on a new release with the international singing sensation Meow Meow. This album, Hotel Amour, features guest appearances by Rufus Wainwright, The von Trapps, Barry Humphries (of Dame Edna fame), and the inimitable late French pianist and composer, Michel Legrand. Pink Martini has sold over 3 million albums worldwide on their own independent label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog). The band’s debut album, Sympathique, was released in 1997, 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 in 2000. 2 THOMAS WILKINS, CONDUCTOR Thomas Wilkins is celebrating his final season as music director of the Omaha Symphony, a position he has held since 2005. Additionally, he is principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Boston Symphony’s artistic advisor, education and community engagement, and holds Indiana University’s Henry A. Upper Chair of Orchestral Conducting established by the late Barbara and David Jacobs as a part of that University’s “Matching the Promise Campaign.” Past positions have included resident conductor of the Detroit Symphony and Florida Orchestra (Tampa Bay), and associate conductor of the Richmond (VA) Symphony. He also has served on the music faculties of North Park University (Chicago), the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Devoted to promoting a life-long enthusiasm for music, Thomas Wilkins brings energy and commitment to audiences of all ages. He is hailed as a master at communicating and connecting with audiences. Following his highly successful first season with the Boston Symphony, the Boston Globe named him among the “Best People and Ideas of 2011.” In 2014, Wilkins received the prestigious “Outstanding Artist” award at the Nebraska Governor’s Arts Awards, for his significant contribution to music in the state while in 2018 Thomas Wilkins received the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society conferred by Boston’s Longy School of Music. And in 2019 the Virginia Symphony bestowed Thomas Wilkins with their annual Dreamer Award. During his conducting career, he has led orchestras throughout the United States, including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony and the National Symphony. Additionally, he has guest conducted the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, the Symphonies of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Baltimore, San Diego and Utah, and the Buffalo and Rochester Philharmonics, as well as at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago. His commitment to community has been demonstrated by his participation on several boards of directors, including the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the Charles Drew Health Center (Omaha), the Center Against Spouse Abuse in Tampa Bay, and the Museum of Fine Arts as well as the Academy Preparatory Center both in St. Petersburg, FL. Currently he serves as chairman of the board for the Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund and as national ambassador for the non-profit World Pediatric Project headquartered in Richmond, VA, which provides children throughout Central America and the Caribbean with critical surgical and diagnostic care. A native of Norfolk, VA, Thomas Wilkins is a graduate of the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He and his wife, Sheri-Lee, are the proud parents of twin daughters, Erica and Nicole. 3.