Pink Martini makes its Blacksburg debut with a performance inspired by global sounds
Join Pink Martini as it ushers in Halloween with a musical trip around the world, from a samba parade in Rio to a French nightclub. Performing with singer China Forbes, the 12-member ensemble takes the Moss Arts Center stage for the first time on Saturday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m.
The performance will be held in the center’s Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, located within the Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall.
Inspired by the romantic Hollywood musicals of the 1940s and '50s, Pink Martini’s arrangements of Latin music, cabaret, and cinema scores come together in a glamorous sound that defies categorization and draws fervent followers worldwide.
While this performance marks Pink Martini's Blacksburg debut, Pink Martini bandleader/pianist and founder Thomas Lauderdale and Forbes streamed a rollicking cabaret evening of music and conversation in the Moss Arts Center’s “HomeStage” series that audience members are still talking about.
Lauderdale founded the “little orchestra” Pink Martini in 1994 to provide beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for such causes as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, education, and parks. A year later, he asked his former Harvard classmate Forbes to join the ensemble. They began to write songs together, and their first song, “Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler),” became an overnight sensation in France and to this day remains a mantra (“Je ne veux pas travailler” means "I don't want to work") for striking French workers.
Pink Martini has performed its multilingual repertoire at opera houses, concert halls, film festivals, museums, and fashion shows around the world. The ensemble has released 11 studio albums and was inducted into both the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
This performance is supported in part by gifts from Ms. Constance Cedras, Mrs. Candi M. Kelly and Dr. J. Michael Kelly, and Dr. Charles Y. Davis and Mrs. Carole C. Davis.
Ticket information
Tickets for the performance are $40-75 for general public and $10 for Virginia Tech students. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center's box office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during box office hours.
The Moss Arts Center adheres to the guidelines of the Virginia Department of Health and Virginia Tech in its operations, including protocols for face coverings and cleaning and sanitation. In accordance with current university policy for indoor events, all faculty, staff, students, and visitors to the Moss Arts Center are required to wear a mask regardless of vaccination status.
Parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street for $5. Payment must be made in cash at the time of entry. Virginia Tech faculty and staff possessing a valid Virginia Tech parking permit can enter and exit the garage free of charge. Virginia Tech has also partnered with ParkMobile to provide a convenient, contactless electronic payment option for parking, which may be used at any parking meter, campus parking space, or lot with standard F/S, C/G, or R parking.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Jonathan Boulter at least 10 business days prior to the event at 540-231-5300 or email jboulter@vt.edu during regular business hours.
