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Biography
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China Forbes, vocalist
China Forbes, born and
raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, graduated cum laude from Harvard
and was awarded the Jonathan Levy Award for acting.
Appearances in New
York regional theatre and off-off Broadway productions earned China
her Equity card. She put her first band together in 1994 and played
regularly at CBGB’s Gallery, Mercury Lounge and Brownies. Her first solo album,
Love
Handle, was released in 1995, and she was chosen to
sing "Ordinary Girl," the theme song to the TV show Clueless.
That’s
when she was plucked from New York by Harvard classmate Thomas Lauderdale
to sing with Pink Martini. The two have since written many of Pink Martini’s
most beloved songs, including “Sympathique,” “Lilly,” “Clementine,” “Let’s
Never Stop Falling in Love,” "Over the Valley" and, most
recently, "A Snowglobe Christmas," which can be heard on Pink
Martini's holiday album Joy to the World. Her original
song “Hey Eugene” is the title track of Pink Martini’s third album, and
many of her songs can also be heard on television and film. She
sang “Que Sera Sera” over the opening and closing credits of Jane
Campion’s film, In the Cut, and her “The Northern Line" appears at
the end of sister Maya Forbes' directorial debut of Infinitely Polar Bear (Sony
Pictures).
With Pink Martini, China 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 performed songs in more than 12
languages and has sung duets with Michael Feinstein, Jimmy Scott, Georges
Moustaki, Henri Salvador, Saori Yuki, Faith Prince, Carol Channing and
Rufus Wainwright in venues from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl
to the Grand Rex in Paris. Her second solo album, ’78, (Heinz Records)
is a collection of autobiographical folk-rock songs.
Several years ago, China took a leave of absence from Pink Martini to
undergo surgery on her vocal chords and to spend time with her
son. Thankfully all went very well and she is thrilled to be back
on stage every chance she gets.
Thomas Lauderdale,
vocalist
Thomas Lauderdale was
raised in rural Indiana and began piano lessons at age 6. When his family moved
to Portland in 1982, he began studying with Sylvia Killman, who remains his
coach and mentor today. At age 14, he made his first appearance with the Oregon
Symphony under the direction of Norman Leyden.
Active in Oregon
politics since he was student body president at Grant High School, Thomas
served under Portland Mayor Bud Clark and Oregon Governor Neil Goldschmidt. In
1991, he worked under Portland City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury on the
drafting and passage of the city’s civil rights ordinance. He graduated with
honors from Harvard with a degree in history and literature in 1992. He spent
most of his collegiate years, however, in cocktail dresses, taking on the role
of “cruise director,” throwing waltzes with live orchestras and ice sculptures,
disco masquerades and operating a Tuesday night coffeehouse called Café Mardi.
Instead of running
for political office, Thomas founded Pink Martini in 1994 to play political
fundraisers for progressive causes such as civil rights, the environment and
affordable housing.
Now in its 23 rd
year, Pink Martini and Thomas Lauderdale are Oregon’s “musical ambassadors to
the world,” performing a multilingual repertoire on concert stages from
Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl to The Royal Albert Hall, and with more
than 50 symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa,
Australia, New Zealand and the Americas. The band has released nine albums on
its own label, Heinz Records, most recently "Dream a Little Dream," a
collaboration with The von Trapps.
Thomas currently
serves on the boards of the Oregon Symphony and Pioneer Courthouse Square in
Portland, Oregon.
This biography was most recently edited by...
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