Biography

Thomas Lauderdale was raised on a plant nursery in rural Indiana. He 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, the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Chamber Music Northwest and Oregon Ballet Theatre. Lauderdale founded Pink Martini in 1994 to play political fundraisers for progressive causes such as civil rights, the environment, affordable housing and public broadcasting. Pink Martini has recorded ten studio albums, and continues to tour around the world, performing in legendary venues such as Royal Albert Hall in London, the Olimpia in Paris, the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to his work with Pink Martini, in 2017 Lauderdale released Love for Sale, an album of standards featuring singer/civil rights leader Kathleen Saadat, and in 2019 he released Hotel Amour, a collaboration with crowd-surfing post-modern diva Meow Meow. 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 2016, Lauderdale created the score and three featured songs for the Belgian film Souvenir, starring the legendary French actress Isabelle Huppert.