Skip to main content

Pink Martini's New Year Eve in Portland, Oregon

Pink Martini's
Hey Eugene

I am one lucky woman! For Christmas I received ticket to the Pink Martini Concert in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Oh my goodness was I ever in for a treat.

(The Schnitz as the locals call it is located in downtown Portland, Oregon on Broadway. It sits next to the Heathman Hotel and housed performing guest Jane Powell.)

Pink Martini is a Local group gone international. Led by the eclectic concert/jazz pianist and composer/art director Thomas M. Lauderdale, Pink Martini continues to surprise and entertain it's audiences with their blend of original compositions, international flavor and classical music made unique by their style.

Last night we heard the extraordinary clarinet of Norman Leyden, former directer of the Pops program for the Oregon Symphony. If the angels had been singing it could not have been any more beautiful. About Leyden:

  • A very successful Pops program was established with Norman Leyden in 1970; Leyden was appointed Associate Conductor in 1974. He was named Laureate Associate Conductor in 2003.
But that was not enough. Then we were treated to a guest appearance by none other than Portland's Jane Powell. Miss Powell, age 79 did a narrative of Peter and the Wolf accompanied by a Pink Martini and the Grant High School chorus, ended with the wolf living in the zoo and the duck being burped up by the wolf! It could not have gotten much more Oregon/politically correct than that.

They concluded the concert with Lauderdale playing Malagena concert style on that beautiful grand piano! It was a true show stopper.

For the very first time I visited the Salmon Street entrance/stage door of the Schnitzer Concert Hall. I ran into, literally, Mayor Tom Potter, spoke to Thomas' Lauderdale's piano teacher and left a message for Norman Leyden. It took a lot of courage on my part plus the company of my daughter to do this. But standing next to Thomas Lauderdale for just a moment and basking in the wonder of my Christmas gift was simply "glorious" (a term Jane Powell used when she made a few comments to the audience.)

Incidentally the note to Leyden said simply, "Thank you".


A special thanks to Higgins Restaurant for a wonderful meal and a waiter that kept saying we were "good" when he saw us walk in the room. I had the tuna with a Meyer lemon sauce. It was the best seared tuna I have ever eaten. You can never go wrong at Higgins

So there you have it...the perfect Christmas gift and a "glorious" New Year's Eve. Thomas Lauderdale with his many home town connections and unique style has done it again.

b
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Leave your thoughts...I am interested.

Popular posts from this blog

Five Little Ducks...stories played out!

The children's song about the little ducks leaving the nest to fly away has always been one of my favorites.  Every mother has seen their babies fly away and rejoiced. Life comes full circle. Animals live that same cycle. Babies grow up. Birds leave the nest. Life goes on. So when the three ducks show up every year near my patio I am not surprised. But I am puzzled that it always seems to be the same three. Something just doesn't seem right. It appears the one did not fly away at all. Five little ducks Went out to play Over the hills and far away. The mommy duck went "quack, quack quack," Four little ducks came swimming back... And then Three Two and One. A drake, a female duck (a hen) and a not quite a drake but still not a hen gather here on the 5th green of the golf course. She leads and the other two follow along obediently. They eat, sleep, and guard each other. Each and every day this time of year they come.  I have not named them. Jinxing them would be very pos...
2 comments
Read more

How to be a 12 Month Snow Bird

Vacation Rental in Mexico I live around snowbirds 6 months of the year. I have heard those people say that they all want to live the "snowbird" lifestyle when they go home. But it just is not possible. They are isolated and cold. Social activities with friends and beautiful weather are greatly missed when they return to the realities of their "real" life. One couple I visited with lately returned to Florida this morning where they own a home. The woman is a nurse and works in the summer. They are not going home until May this year. It is too cold in Michigan in the spring so they are hoping to extend their good weather season by simply staying away. Besides that they love their Florida lifestyle a lot. Last week I visited with a woman that lives the snowbird lifestyle year around. No going home to the Midwest in the spring. They essentially vacation 12 month out of the year. And I thought their solution for avoiding unpleasant weather and keeping their lifestyle in...
35 comments
Read more

If You Build It, They Will Come...Maybe!

It all began with a antique window in front of a local shop. It had been painted yellow, the glass was loose and all of the hinges and latches were gone. My old friend Betty would have approved...she would tell me it was just broken enough and damaged enough for me to drag it home. When my dear husband saw it, he wondered what he was meant to do with it. Imagine his surprise when he was presented with the plan to build a small neighborhood library exchange. It wasn't the first time he had heard me ask "How hard could it be?" Now it is six weeks later and we mounted the darling little library exchange on two posts in our front yard. I love it. Now the question is, will they come or has the time passed when people actually read something made of paper? Our association president stopped by and admired the box but left after telling me that he only read books on his Kindle. We will see. Would you bring a book and take a book? b+
14 comments
Read more