STG Presents Pink Martini with the Seattle Symphony 12/3

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) presents a very special holiday show with Pink Martini and the Seattle Symphony on Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 8:00pm at the Paramount Theatre. Pink Martini will perform a holiday program, featuring songs from their Joy To The World album & more. In addition, China Forbes will make her official return to the stage with Pink Martini! Eric Garcia will be the conductor for the Seattle Symphony.

Pink Martini:
In 1994 in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in politics, thinking that one day he would run for mayor. 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 to provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for progressive causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks.

Featuring twelve regular musicians, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Australia and 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 over 25 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 and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London. 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, 2004 & 2008; two sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall; the opening party of the remodeled Museum of Modern Art in NYC; the Governor's Ball at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008; and the opening of the 2008 Sydney Festival in Australia.

Pink Martini's debut album Sympathique was released independently in 1997 on the band's own label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale's dog), 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. Pink Martini released Hang On Little Tomato in 2004, Hey Eugene! in 2007 and Splendor In The Grass in 2009. In November 2010, the band released Joy To The World - a festive, multi-denominational holiday album featuring songs from around the globe. Joy To The World received rave reviews and was carried in Starbucks stores during the 2010 holiday season. All five albums have gone gold in France, Canada, Greece and Turkey, and have sold well over 2 million copies worldwide.

Eric Garcia:
Eric Garcia currently serves as Assistant Conductor for both Seattle Symphony and the Eastern Music Festival. Garcia formerly served as Director of Orchestral Activities and Professor of Conducting at the University of Evansville and Music Director of the Evansville Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He has also served as Music Director at St. Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois. In Chicago, Garcia held several conducting positions and appeared as guest conductor with numerous orchestras. Among these, he guest conducted the Northwest Festival Orchestra of Illinois, working with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

Garcia has attended the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and School, working with such eminent conductors as Nicholas Kraemer, Murry Sidlin, Leonard Slatkin and David Zinman. He received a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University under the mentorship of Victor Yampolsky. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in music theory from the University of Texas.

The Seattle Symphony:
The Seattle Symphony, now presenting its 109th season, has gained international prominence with more than 140 recordings, twelve GRAMMY® nominations and two Emmys. The 2011-2012 Season is the inaugural year for Music Director Ludovic Morlot, who was appointed to the position in 2010. The Seattle Symphony performs in one of the world's finest concert venues - Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle - and is recognized for its innovative programming, devotion to the classics, and extensive recording catalog. From September through July, the Symphony is heard live by more than 315,000 people. For more information on the Seattle Symphony, visit www.seattlesymphony.org.

Tickets: $41.25 - $121.25, not including applicable fees. Tickets are on sale Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 10am at Tickets.com, in person at the Paramount Theatre box offices (M-F 10am-6pm), 24-hour kiosks located outside The Paramount & Moore Theatres, charge by phone at 877-784-4849, or online at STGPresents.org.

About STG:
Our mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of our region's cultural identity while keeping three historic venues, The Paramount, Moore and Neptune, alive and vibrant. STG presents a range of performances from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and jazz, to comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows - at these three iconic theatres in Seattle and venues throughout the Puget Sound region and in Portland, Oregon.

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