Pink Martini Christmas - December 3, 2024

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ABOUT DIGITAL PROGRAMS

The Gallo Center has adopted the use of digital programs meant to be viewed on cell phones or other computer devices. This change has important public health, environmental and economic benefits: reducing close contacts between patrons and ushers, cutting our use of paper, and eliminating substantial printing costs. View the program only before shows begin or during intermissions. Please be considerate of other patrons and artists on stage by not viewing it during performances. Patrons who do not observe this courtesy and create distractions may be asked to leave. Thank you!

WHY YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS

The Gallo Center for the Arts is a non-profit performing arts center with a deep commitment to enriching the people and communities of California’s vast San Joaquin Valley. From the scintillating performances of its wonderful resident companies, to the great variety of world-class entertainment presented by the Center each season, to robust arts education programs for the region’s youth, this is where the magic happens.

From the beginning, the Center’s mission has been clearly defined: to provide an inspirational civic gathering place where regional, national, and international cultural activities illuminate, educate, and entertain. Since revenue from ticket sales and facility rentals only covers a portion of the costs associated with fulfilling this mission, the Center is dependent on the generous annual financial support from donors and program sponsors within our community.

LEARN MORE AT

ABOUT THE CENTER

HOW TO BUY TICKETS

In Person: 1000 I Street, downtown Modesto

Online: 24/7/365 at GalloArts.org

By Phone: (209) 338-2100

TICKET OFFICE HOURS

Monday – Friday: 10 am – 6 pm, Saturday: Noon – 6 pm Closed Sundays

Ticket Office opens two hours prior to all events

EMAIL LIST

Sign up at GalloArts.org and receive e-news about events, added performances, and special offers!

GENERAL INFORMATION

The mission of the Gallo Center for the Arts is to enrich the quality of life in the San Joaquin Valley by providing an inspirational civic gathering place where regional, national and international cultural activities illuminate, educate and entertain. The Gallo Center for the Arts celebrates the diversity of the San Joaquin Valley by offering an array of affordable cultural opportunities designed to appeal, and be accessible, to all.

The Center opened in September, 2007 and consists of the 440-seat Foster Family Theater, the 1,248-seat Mary Stuart Rogers Theater, the Marie Damrell Gallo Grand Lobby and a plaza serving both theaters, and the Modesto Rotary Music Garden.

As a regional non-profit performing arts center, the Gallo Center for the Arts presents internationally recognized touring artists in all disciplines, and also is home to four resident companies: Central West Ballet, Modesto Performing Arts, Modesto Symphony Orchestra and Opera Modesto. The Gallo Center for the Arts is a unique public/private partnership. Construction was funded jointly by the County of Stanislaus, which owns the facility, and contributions from more than 4,000 individuals and businesses given to a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization which today operates the Center.

PATRON EVENT INFORMATION

• Emergency exits are indicated by green exit signs located above each exit. For your safety, please check for the location of the exit nearest to your seat.

• The Gallo Center for the Arts is accessible to disabled patrons. Wheelchair seating is available in both theaters. Portable wireless listening devices are available at the Coat Check room at no charge. Please inform the Ticket Office of any special needs when ordering tickets.

• Food and beverages are not allowed in the theaters. (with the exception of bottled water and beverages served in theater cups.)

• Smoking is prohibited inside the building and within 20 feet of all entrances.

• Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the Gallo Center for the Arts’ house managers.

• The use of recording equipment and the taking of photographs in Gallo Center for the Arts theaters is strictly forbidden. The Gallo Center for the Arts reserves the right to confiscate any such equipment and/or require offending customers to exit the premises.

• As a courtesy to artists and to your fellow patrons,

please turn off or silence any mobile device on your person. No texting, please!

• Restrooms are located on all three levels of the Center.

• Lost items will be held in the Coat Check room on the main level until the end of the performance. Thereafter, please contact Ticket Office at (209) 338-2100.

• All patrons MUST have a ticket to enter a performance regardless of age.

• Out of courtesy to other patrons, the Gallo Center for the Arts requests that no infants or toddlers attend any performance.

Groups qualify for discounts up to 15% on ticket prices to the many exciting performances offered by the Gallo Center for the Arts and its resident companies.

Secure your group reservation today for just 10% down of your total price!

EMPLOYEE PARTIES/REWARDS CHURCH OUTINGS

CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS

BUS TOURS

CORPORATE ENTERTAINMENT

SENIOR CENTER OUTINGS

HOLIDAY, ANNIVERSARY & BIRTHDAY PARTIES

…AND MORE!

ONE CALL DOES IT ALL!

Our group sales manager, Jesica Sanchez, is at your service. Call her at (209) 338-5064, or send an email to jsanchez@galloarts.org.

03, 2024

Pink Martini

Presented by

In 1994, in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in politics, thinking he would run for mayor one day. Like other eager politicians-intraining, 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. His aim? To provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers supporting causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, education, and parks.

One year later, Lauderdale called China Forbes, a Harvard classmate living in New York City, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write songs together. Their first, “Sympathique,” was an overnight sensation in France and nominated for Song of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique Awards. To this day, it remains a mantra for striking workers: “Je ne veux pas travailler (I don’t want to work)”.

Pink Martini has sold well over 3 million albums worldwide on their own independent label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog). In 2016, Pink Martini released its ninth studio album, Je dis oui!, which features vocals from China Forbes, Storm Large, Ari Shapiro, fashion guru Ikram Goldman, civil rights activist Kathleen Saadat, and Rufus Wainwright. The album’s 15 tracks span eight languages (French, Farsi, Armenian, Portuguese, Arabic, Turkish, Xhosa and English), and affirm the band’s history of global inclusivity and collaborative spirit. In 2019, Pink Martini collaborated on a new release with the international singing sensation Meow Meow, entitled Hotel Amour, and also released two 5-song EPs, Besame Mucho, featuring regular guest singer Edna Vazquez, and Tomorrow, featuring regular guest singer Jimmie Herrod, a finalist on 2021’s season of NBC’s America’s Got Talent. During their pandemic hiatus, the band released two new digital singles written by Thomas Lauderdale, China Forbes, and producer Jim Bianco, “Let’s Be Friends,” and “The Lemonade Song,” which has over 10 million streams on Spotify alone.

Featuring more than a dozen musicians, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire throughout the world. Says Lauderdale, “We’re very much an American band, but we spend a lot of time abroad and therefore have the

incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent a broader, more inclusive America… the America which remains the most heterogeneously populated country in the world… composed of people of every country, every language, every religion.”

The band made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony the following year. Since then, Pink Martini has played with more than 50 orchestras internationally, including Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Pops, National Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and the BBC Concert Orchestra at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Other appearances include a performance at the official post-Oscars celebration Governors Ball, four soldout concerts at Carnegie Hall, the opening party of the remodeled Museum of Modern Art in New York, multiple sellouts and a festival opening at Montreal Jazz Festival, and multiple appearances, including sellouts, at the Hollywood Ball and Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. In its 20th year, Pink Martini was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. In 2023, the band is celebrating its 29th year of performing.

China Forbes

China Forbes was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts and graduated cum laude from Harvard, majoring in Visual Arts and English, with a minor in Theater. After graduation, and before being lured West to sing with Pink Martini by Harvard friend and classmate Thomas Lauderdale, China lived performed off Broadway, in New York regional theatre and as a singer/songwriter in NYC clubs. China because the lead singer for Pink Martini in 1995 and has co-written many of the bands most beloved songs with Lauderdale, starting with “Sympathique”, and continuing to the most recent singles “Lemonade Song” and “Let’s Be Friends”. Her original song “Northern Line” plays over the end credits of sister Maya Forbes’ directorial debut film Infinitely Polar Bear (Sony Pictures Classics). Last year Chin Forbes released her post-pandemic anthem “Full Circle” followed by her suicide song “Rise”, both singles for the forthcoming third solo album, slated for release in early 2024. She is the recipient of the 2022 Ella Fitzgerald Award at the Montreal International Jaz Festival; previous winners include Diana Ross, Etta James, and Liza Minelli.

Raised on a plant nursery in rural Indiana, Pink Martini bandleader Thomas M. Lauderdale began piano lessons at age six with Patricia Garrison. When his family moved to Portland in 1982, he began studying with Sylvia Killman, who to this day continues to serve as his coach and mentor. He has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the Oregon Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Chamber Music Northwest and several collaborations with Oregon Ballet Theatre. In 2008, he played Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F with the Oregon Symphony under the direction of Christoph Campestrini.

Active in Oregon politics since a student at U.S. Grant High School (where he was student body president), 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 with gigantic pineapples on wheels, midnight swimming parties, and operating a Tuesday night coffeehouse called Café Mardi.

Instead of running for political office, Lauderdale founded Pink Martini in 1994 to play political fundraisers for progressive causes such as civil rights, the environment, affordable housing and public broadcasting. In addition to his work with Pink Martini, Lauderdale has most recently completed two long awaited collaborations with dear friends. In 2018 he completed Love for Sale, an album of jazz standards with singer/civil rights leader Kathleen Saadat, that began as a gift to a few friends and ended up being a Billboard Jazz charts-ranking album the month it was released.

In 2019, Thomas Lauderdale and members of Pink Martini collaborated on a new release with the international singing sensation Meow Meow. The album Hotel Amour - the culmination of almost a decade of work- features guest appearances by Rufus Wainwright, The von Trapps, Barry Humphries (of

Dame Edna fame), and the inimitable late French pianist and composer, Michel Legrand. Currently, Thomas is collaborating with the iconic Iranian singer Googoosh, on her forthcoming album. Spring of 2023 sees the long awaited release of Thomas Lauderdale Meets The Pilgrims, hi scollaboration with Portland’s own surf-rock indie icons, Satan’s Pilgrims.

Lauderdale currently serves on the boards of the Oregon Symphony, Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Oregon Historical Society, and the Confluence Project with Maya Lin. He lives in Portland with his partner Hunter Noack.

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CENTER CIRCLES

As

As of November 15,

The

Katy & Ken Menges

Yogurt Mill

Downtown Modesto Partnership

CORPORATE PATRONS

As of November 15, 2024

The Mayol Family & Team PSC

Daniel Del Real – Del Real Group

The Graspointner Family

The Pirrone Family

Stanislaus Food Products Gianelli | Friedman | Jeffries

Sodhi Law Group

Winton-Ireland, Strom & Green Insurance Agency

Wille Electric Supply Company, Inc.

Mistlin Honda

Arts Education

As of November 15, 2024

$25,000+ Alfred Matthews

California Arts Council

Education Foundation of Stanislaus County

U.S. Bank

$10,000+ Make Dreams Real Foundation

Modesto Subaru

Porges Family Foundation Fund

Silva Injury Law, Inc.

$5,000+

Kaiser Permanente

Ella Webb & Shelley Dameron

$2,500+

Beard Land & Investment Co.

Enterprise Mobility Foundation

Jeff Gaudio & Karen Freeborn

Jason, Beki, & Stephen Rush

$1,000+

Carl A and Margaret A Johnson

Family Foundation

Modesto Rotary Club Foundation

Modesto Sunrise Rotary

The Save Mart Companies CARES Foundation

$500+

USS Balthasar

Cortney Hurst

Anonymous (1)

$150+

Debra Brady & Stephen Veglia

Grace Lutheran Church

Jerry & Diane Hougland

Alice Renfroe

John & Mary Ann Sanders

FOUNDATION GIVING

Bob and Marie Gallo Foundation

California Arts Council

Costa Family Foundation

National Endowment for the Arts

Stanislaus Community Foundation

The Ernest Gallo Foundation

The Julio R. Gallo Foundation

Porges Family Foundation Fund

Raymus Foundation

U.S. Bank Foundation

Creative West

PERPETUAL MEMORIAL GIFTS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR Thomas K. Beard

Randall Stanley Behr

Carl Boyett

Robert J. Cardoza

Gallo Center for the a r t s

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Christina Gomez, ChairoftheBoard

Marie D. Gallo, PresidentEmerita† June Rogers, Director Emerita

Alex Mari, M.D., ImmediatePastChair

Ginger Johnson, ChairElect

Mel Bradley Fallon Ferris

Sarah Grover

Chad Hilligus

Michael Krausnick

Jay Krishnaswamy

Michelle Lewis

Katy Menges

Todd Aaronson

Angelica Anguiano

Victor Barraza

John C. Bellizzi

Jennifer Coehlo

Kathryn Davis

Daniel Del Real

Paul Michael Eger

Robert Fantazia

Stacey Filippi

Robert Fores Julian Gallo

Irene Angelo†

Lilly Banisadre

Carl Boyett†

Joan Cardoza

Sheila Carroll

Suzanne Casazza

Paul Draper

Ron Emerzian

Ann Endsley

Kenni Friedman

Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Ph.D.

Duncan Reno

Tina Rocha

Michael Joe Silva

Stephanie Gallo Tyler

Ann M. Veneman

Geoff Wong

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Ryan Roth Gallo

Virginia Madueno

Roberto Martinez

Ivey Mayol

Yolanda Meraz

Sharilyn Nelson

Linda Hischier Ronald Hoffmann

Jose Ibarra

Jaime Jimenez

Brian Kline

Kevin Luttenegger

Ogle, Ph.D.

Johann Ramirez

Rose Marie Reavill Jeffrey Reed

FOUNDING TRUSTEES

Louis Friedman

Dianne Gagos

Barry Highiet† Randy Jalli

Roy Levin, M.D.

Alexandra Loew

Bill Mattos

Tony Mistlin† Kate Nyegaard Ruthann Olsen

Jeanne Perry

John C. Pfeffer, M.D.

Norm Porges

Chris Reed James Reed

Ellen Ritchey Delsie Schrimp

Catherine Rhee

Christine Roberts

Rosalee Rush

John Schneider

Kate Trompetter

Philip Trompetter, Ph.D.

Aaron Valencia

Colleen F. Van Egmond

Doug Vilas

Sue Zwahlen

Fred A. Silva

Ray Simon

Delmar R. Tonge, M.D.†

Tom Van Groningen, Ph.D.

Carol Whiteside†

Jeremiah Williams

Alice Yip

†In Memoriam

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