Thomas Lauderdale

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Thomas Lauderdale bigraphy, stories - Musician

Thomas Lauderdale : biography

July 14, 1970 –

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.

Personal life

Lauderdale lives in a 9,600 square foot building in the downtown commercial district in Portland, Oregon. He has shared the place with his domestic partner, Philip Iosca, since 2005.

Early life

Lauderdale was adopted by Kerby Roy and Linda Sue (Mikesell) Lauderdale. In 1972, the family moved to Indiana, 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.

Individual appearances

In addition to his work with Pink Martini, Lauderdale collaborates with international superstar and singing sensation Meow Meow, the surf band Satan’s Pilgrims and novelist/writer Tom Spanbauer. 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 2008, he performed as the featured piano soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia with the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland under the direction of Roger Doyle, and Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F with the Oregon Symphony under the direction of Christoph Campestrini.Stabler, David (16 November 2008). The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon. In 2011 Lauderdale again appeared as the featured soloist with the Oregon Symphony, this time under the direction of Carlos Kalmar.

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).

Albums

Pink Martini has released seven studio albums and one live concert DVD on the band’s own record label, Heinz Records and partnered with other labels worldwide, including Naïve Records 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 (1997), Hang on Little Tomato (2004), and Hey Eugene! (2007), Splendor In The Grass (2009) and Joy To The World (2010) have all gone gold in France, Turkey, Greece, and Canada selling over 2.5 million copies worldwide.

In Fall 2011 the band released two albums – A Retrospective (Pink Martini album), a collection of the band’s most beloved songs spanning their 17-year career, which includes eight previously unreleased tracks, and 1969 (Pink Martini album), an album of collaborations with legendary Japanese singer Saori Yuki. 1969 has been certified platinum in Japan, reaching #2 on the Japanese charts with the Japan Times raving “the love and respect Saori Yuki and Pink Martini have for the pop tradition shines through on every track.”