Raise a glass with Pink Martini

BEAVER CREEK — The Vilar Performing Arts Center (VPAC) welcomes the international music phenomenon Pink Martini on Thursday at 8 p.m. Lead by Portland native Thomas Lauderdale, Pink Martini lights up every house they play in with feel-good fusion. Drawing inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop – Pink Martini features a dozen musicians performing a multilingual repertoire on concert stages all over the globe. By far one of the most requested New Year’s Eve party bands, they’ve sold out every major concert hall from Carnegie to Cannes. Tickets to Pink Martini are $78 and are on sale now at the VPAC Box Office (970-845-8497/http://www.vilarpac.org).

Pink Martini’s debut album “Sympathique” was released independently and quickly became an international phenomenon, garnering the group nominations for “Song of the Year” and “Best New Artist” in France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards. Singer Storm Large began performing with Pink Martini in March 2011, when China Forbes took a leave of absence to undergo surgery on her vocal cords. Forbes made full recovery and now both she and Large continue performing with Pink Martini.

In January 2012, bandleader Thomas Lauderdale began work on Pink Martini’s seventh studio album titled “Get Happy,” featuring 16 globe-spanning songs in nine languages. Forbes anchors the recording, and she is joined by her new co-lead singer Storm Large, recording with Pink Martini for the first time, along with a cavalcade of special guests including Rufus Wainwright, Philippe Katerine, Meow Meow, The von Trapps and Ari Shapiro.

And while still in the studio for “Get Happy,” Lauderdale simultaneously began work on the band’s eighth studio album, “Dream a Little Dream,” featuring Sofia, Melanie, Amanda and August von Trapp, the actual great-grandchildren of Captain and Maria von Trapp, made famous by the movie “The Sound of Music.” The album, released in March 2014, traverses the world, from Sweden to Rwanda to China to Bavaria, and features guest appearances by The Chieftains, Wayne Newton, “Jungle” Jack Hanna, and Charmian Carr (who played Liesl in the original “Sound of Music”).