Thomas M. Lauderdale
Encyclopedia
Thomas Mack Lauderdale (Born July 14, 1970 in Oakland, California
) is a musician, largely known for his work with the Portland
-based band Pink Martini
.
, where his father was pastor at Eel River Church of the Brethren. After church services, Lauderdale would go to the piano, and try to replicate the hymns he heard. His parents bought an upright piano at an auction and he began his formal musical studies at age six with Patricia Garrison of North Manchester, Indiana and later, Joyanne Jones at Indiana University/Purdue University in Fort Wayne.
In 1976, his father resigned from the ministry and the Lauderdale family opened a plant nursery near North Manchester. The family moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1980, after his parents divorced and his father came out of the closet. In the 1990s, his parents went on several talk shows – including 20/20, Oprah
, Jane Whitney, and Christina, to talk about what happens when a spouse comes out. Kerby returned to the ministry, and is the first openly gay pastor in his denomination. He performed the service when his former wife Linda remarried in 2000.
, Lauderdale began his studies with Sylvia Killman in 1982. Killman and Lauderdale remain close. Lauderdale won the Oregon Symphony's annual Corbett Competition in 1985, marking the beginning of a long association with conductor Norman Leyden. He graduated from Portland's Ulysses S. Grant High School in 1988, where he was student body president and editorial editor of The Grantonian. Lauderdale studied at Harvard University
, where he graduated cum laude with a degree in History and Literature. He spent most of his time in college in cocktail dresses, throwing waltzes with live orchestras and ice sculptures; disco masquerades with gigantic pineapples on wheels; nude midnight swimming parties in the Adams House
swimming pool; and operating a Tuesday night coffeehouse called Café Mardi.
on Pee-Wee Herman
's Christmas Special, Lauderdale flew them to Portland in October 1994 to do a series of concerts at retirement homes, nursing homes, and hospitals. After a week of performances and appearances, the Del Rubio Triplets performed at a fundraising concert at Cinema 21 in Northwest Portland. Stuck for an opening act for the group, Lauderdale threw on a Betsey Johnson
cocktail dress, and joined by a bass player, a bongo player, and a singer, took to the stage as Pink Martini
.
Pink Martini's first concerts were often politically motivated, with performances at events for progressive causes such as the environment, affordable housing, civil rights, libraries, and public broadcasting. The band remains committed to its progressive and political roots. FundFest is a biennial four-day concert series produced by the band to raise money and visibility for four different organizations. Past recipients include Reach Community Development, Oregon Public Broadcasting, the ALS Association of Oregon and SW Washington, Children's Cancer Association, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Friends of Trees, and KBOO Community Radio.
Pink Martini has grown from four musicians to its current twelve. Singer China Forbes
– who Lauderdale met at college – joined the band in 1995. The band has performed its multi-lingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Tunisia, Australia, Canada and the United States. In 1998, the ensemble made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival
, as well as its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony
under the direction of Norman Leyden. Pink Martini has since performed with over 25 symphony orchestras around the world including the Boston Pops, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
, the Los Angeles Philharmonic
, the BBC Orchestra, and with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Other 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; Wolf Trap
in Washington; and Carnegie Hall
in June 2007. Recent collaborations include performances and recordings with Jimmy Scott
, Henri Salvador
, Jane Powell
, Georges Moustaki
, DJ Dimitri from Paris, Michael Feinstein
, Alba Clemente, DJ Johnny Dynell, March 4 Marching Band, Carol Channing
and several drag queens from New York City.
in France, Wrasse Records
in the United Kingdom and South America, Audiogram in Canada, Urtext in Mexico, Random Records in Argentina and Chile, Inertia Recordings in Australia and New Zealand, Ales in Korea, and Top 2 in Southeast Asia. The band's debut album Sympathique was released in 1997, and received nominations for "Song of the Year" and "Best New Artist" in France's Victoires de la Musique
awards. Sympathique, Hang on Little Tomato (2004), and Hey Eugene! (2007) have gone gold in France, Turkey, Greece, and Canada.
Pink Martini released their fourth album, Splendor In The Grass, October 27, 2009. In May 2009, the band recorded a live album with the Oregon Symphony in Portland under the direction of Carlos Kalmar
. In September 2009 – in conjunction with the sesqui-centennial celebration of the state of Oregon – the band collaborated with Stan Freberg
, writing and performing an updated version of Oregon! Oregon! A Centennial Fable – a 30-minute musical comedy about the state of Oregon originally commissioned in 1959 by the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company to celebrate the state's centennial.
. In Spring 2008, Lauderdale completed his first film score for Chiara Clemente's documentary Our City Dreams, a portrait of five New York City-based women artists of different generations. In April 2008, Lauderdale performed as the featured piano soloist in Ludwig von Beethoven's Choral Fantasia with the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland
and the University of Portland Singers under the direction of Roger Doyle. In November 2008, he played George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F with the Oregon Symphony at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland under the direction of Christoph Campestrini.
He has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the Oregon Symphony
, the Seattle Symphony
, the Portland Youth Philharmonic
, Chamber Music Northwest, the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland
and Oregon Ballet Theatre (where he collaborated with choreographer James Canfield and visual artists Storm Tharp and Malia Jensen on a ballet based on the original story of Bambi, written by Felix Salten in 1923).
to the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee; by Mayor Clark to the Metropolitan Youth Commission and by City Commissioner Mike Lindberg to the Public Safety in the Parks Task Force. In 1992, he was involved in the No on 9 and No on 13 Campaigns, in response to measures that would amend the Oregon constitution to declare homosexuality illegal.
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
) is a musician, largely known for his work with the Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
-based band Pink Martini
Pink Martini
Pink Martini is a 13-member "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale. They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop.-History:...
.
Early life
Lauderdale was adopted by Kerby Roy and Linda Sue (Mikesell) Lauderdale. In 1972, the family moved to IndianaIndiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, where his father was pastor at Eel River Church of the Brethren. After church services, Lauderdale would go to the piano, and try to replicate the hymns he heard. His parents bought an upright piano at an auction and he began his formal musical studies at age six with Patricia Garrison of North Manchester, Indiana and later, Joyanne Jones at Indiana University/Purdue University in Fort Wayne.
In 1976, his father resigned from the ministry and the Lauderdale family opened a plant nursery near North Manchester. The family moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1980, after his parents divorced and his father came out of the closet. In the 1990s, his parents went on several talk shows – including 20/20, Oprah
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, Jane Whitney, and Christina, to talk about what happens when a spouse comes out. Kerby returned to the ministry, and is the first openly gay pastor in his denomination. He performed the service when his former wife Linda remarried in 2000.
Education
In Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Lauderdale began his studies with Sylvia Killman in 1982. Killman and Lauderdale remain close. Lauderdale won the Oregon Symphony's annual Corbett Competition in 1985, marking the beginning of a long association with conductor Norman Leyden. He graduated from Portland's Ulysses S. Grant High School in 1988, where he was student body president and editorial editor of The Grantonian. Lauderdale studied at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he graduated cum laude with a degree in History and Literature. He spent most of his time in college in cocktail dresses, throwing waltzes with live orchestras and ice sculptures; disco masquerades with gigantic pineapples on wheels; nude midnight swimming parties in the Adams House
Adams House (Harvard University)
Adams House is one of the twelve undergraduate houses at Harvard University, located between Harvard Square and the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Named to commemorate the Adams family, including John Adams, the second president of the United States and John Quincy Adams, the sixth...
swimming pool; and operating a Tuesday night coffeehouse called Café Mardi.
Pink Martini
After seeing the Del Rubio TripletsDel Rubio triplets
The Del Rubio Triplets were an American variety/musical act who rose to notoriety in the 1980s due mostly to their campy style of dress and their goofy interpretations of standards and songs of the era....
on Pee-Wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman
Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his two television series and film series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that quickly led to an HBO special in 1981...
's Christmas Special, Lauderdale flew them to Portland in October 1994 to do a series of concerts at retirement homes, nursing homes, and hospitals. After a week of performances and appearances, the Del Rubio Triplets performed at a fundraising concert at Cinema 21 in Northwest Portland. Stuck for an opening act for the group, Lauderdale threw on a Betsey Johnson
Betsey Johnson
Betsey Johnson is an American fashion designer best known for her feminine and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished...
cocktail dress, and joined by a bass player, a bongo player, and a singer, took to the stage as Pink Martini
Pink Martini
Pink Martini is a 13-member "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale. They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop.-History:...
.
Pink Martini's first concerts were often politically motivated, with performances at events for progressive causes such as the environment, affordable housing, civil rights, libraries, and public broadcasting. The band remains committed to its progressive and political roots. FundFest is a biennial four-day concert series produced by the band to raise money and visibility for four different organizations. Past recipients include Reach Community Development, Oregon Public Broadcasting, the ALS Association of Oregon and SW Washington, Children's Cancer Association, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Friends of Trees, and KBOO Community Radio.
Pink Martini has grown from four musicians to its current twelve. Singer China Forbes
China Forbes
China Forbes is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of Pink Martini.Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her father is American of French/Scottish descent, and her mother is African American...
– who Lauderdale met at college – joined the band in 1995. The band has performed its multi-lingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Tunisia, Australia, Canada and the United States. In 1998, the ensemble made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, as well as its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony
Oregon Symphony
The Oregon Symphony is an American orchestra based in Portland, Oregon. Founded as the Portland Symphony Society in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States...
under the direction of Norman Leyden. Pink Martini has since performed with over 25 symphony orchestras around the world including the Boston Pops, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra is a symphony orchestra which is managed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and plays the vast majority of its performances at the Hollywood Bowl....
, the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
, the BBC Orchestra, and with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Other appearances include the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's new Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the...
, with return sold-out engagements for New Year's Eve 2003 and 2004; the opening party of the New York Museum of Modern Art; Wolf Trap
Wolf Trap
Wolf Trap may refer to:* Wolf Trap, Virginia* Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Wolf Trap, VA* Wolftrap anglerfish , a family of anglerfish* A microbiology experiment of Wolf Vishniac...
in Washington; and Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in June 2007. Recent collaborations include performances and recordings with Jimmy Scott
Jimmy Scott
Jimmy Scott , aka "Little" Jimmy Scott, is an American jazz vocalist famous for his unusually high contralto voice which is due to Kallmann's syndrome, a very rare genetic condition. The condition stunted his growth at four feet eleven inches until, at age 37, he grew another 8 inches to the...
, Henri Salvador
Henri Salvador
Henri Salvador was a French Caribbean singer.-Biography:Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of a native Indian from the Caribbean, were both from Guadeloupe, French West Indies...
, Jane Powell
Jane Powell
Jane Powell is an American singer, dancer and actress.After rising to fame as a singer in her home state of Oregon, Powell was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while still in her teens...
, Georges Moustaki
Georges Moustaki
Giuseppe Mustacchi, known as Georges Moustaki , is a French singer and songwriter of Italo-Greek Jewish origin, best known for his poetic rhythm, eloquent simplicity and his hundreds of romantic songs...
, DJ Dimitri from Paris, Michael Feinstein
Michael Feinstein
Michael Jay Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs...
, Alba Clemente, DJ Johnny Dynell, March 4 Marching Band, Carol Channing
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
and several drag queens from New York City.
Albums
Pink Martini has released four studio albums on the band's own record label, Heinz Records and partnered with other labels worldwide, including Naïve RecordsNaïve Records
Naïve Records is a French independent record label based in Paris, specializing in electronic music, pop music, jazz and classical music. It was founded in 1997 by Patrick Zelnik, Gilles Paires and Eric Tong Cuong.-Artists:* Aṣa* Asian Dub Foundation...
in France, Wrasse Records
Wrasse Records
Wrasse Records is a British record label. It was started in 1998 by Ian and Jo Ashbridge. Both had been involved in the music industry prior to them starting up their own company. Its offices are based in the UK, but it distributes its CDs all around the world...
in the United Kingdom and South America, Audiogram in Canada, Urtext in Mexico, Random Records in Argentina and Chile, Inertia Recordings in Australia and New Zealand, Ales in Korea, and Top 2 in Southeast Asia. The band's debut album Sympathique was released in 1997, and received nominations for "Song of the Year" and "Best New Artist" in France's Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la musique , is an annual French award ceremony that recognizes the best musical artists of the year.- Male artist of the year :*1985 : Michel Jonasz*1986 : Jean-Jacques Goldman*1987 : Johnny Hallyday...
awards. Sympathique, Hang on Little Tomato (2004), and Hey Eugene! (2007) have gone gold in France, Turkey, Greece, and Canada.
Pink Martini released their fourth album, Splendor In The Grass, October 27, 2009. In May 2009, the band recorded a live album with the Oregon Symphony in Portland under the direction of Carlos Kalmar
Carlos Kalmar
Carlos Kalmar is a Uruguayan conductor. He began violin studies at age six. At age fifteen, he enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Music where his conducting teacher was Karl Österreicher...
. In September 2009 – in conjunction with the sesqui-centennial celebration of the state of Oregon – the band collaborated with Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg
Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
, writing and performing an updated version of Oregon! Oregon! A Centennial Fable – a 30-minute musical comedy about the state of Oregon originally commissioned in 1959 by the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company to celebrate the state's centennial.
Individual appearances
In addition to his work with the band, Lauderdale collaborates with singer Meow Meow, the surf band Satan's Pilgrims, Sneakin' Out, and writer Tom SpanbauerTom Spanbauer
-Biography:He studied creative writing with Gordon Lish at Columbia University. As a gay writer, he has explored issues of race, of sexual identity, of how we make a family for ourselves in order to surmount the limitations of the families into which we are born...
. In Spring 2008, Lauderdale completed his first film score for Chiara Clemente's documentary Our City Dreams, a portrait of five New York City-based women artists of different generations. In April 2008, Lauderdale performed as the featured piano soloist in Ludwig von Beethoven's Choral Fantasia with the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland
Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland
The 40-voice Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland is a volunteer choir founded in 1969 in Portland, Oregon. The choir is a registered 5013 not-for-profit organization and a performing arts ensemble that performs both sacred and secular music.-History:...
and the University of Portland Singers under the direction of Roger Doyle. In November 2008, he played George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F with the Oregon Symphony at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland under the direction of Christoph Campestrini.
He has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the Oregon Symphony
Oregon Symphony
The Oregon Symphony is an American orchestra based in Portland, Oregon. Founded as the Portland Symphony Society in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States...
, the Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
, the Portland Youth Philharmonic
Portland Youth Philharmonic
The Portland Youth Philharmonic is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States, established in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony . Now based in Portland, Oregon, the orchestra's origin dates back to 1910 when music teacher Mary V. Dodge began playing music for local children in Burns...
, Chamber Music Northwest, the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland
Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland
The 40-voice Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland is a volunteer choir founded in 1969 in Portland, Oregon. The choir is a registered 5013 not-for-profit organization and a performing arts ensemble that performs both sacred and secular music.-History:...
and Oregon Ballet Theatre (where he collaborated with choreographer James Canfield and visual artists Storm Tharp and Malia Jensen on a ballet based on the original story of Bambi, written by Felix Salten in 1923).
Political activism
Beginning in high school, Lauderdale became interested in politics. He worked in Portland City Hall, first under Mayor J.E. "Bud" Clark in the office of international relations, and later under City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury on the city's civil rights ordinance. He was appointed by Oregon governor Neil GoldschmidtNeil Goldschmidt
Neil Edward Goldschmidt is an American businessman and former Democratic politician from Oregon who held local, state, and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the governor of Oregon, Goldschmidt is widely considered the most influential figure in the state's politics, both as an...
to the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee; by Mayor Clark to the Metropolitan Youth Commission and by City Commissioner Mike Lindberg to the Public Safety in the Parks Task Force. In 1992, he was involved in the No on 9 and No on 13 Campaigns, in response to measures that would amend the Oregon constitution to declare homosexuality illegal.