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Homer Nonprofit Books Pink Martini

Homer Council on the Arts

Homer Council on the Arts sponsored a number of events featuring the world famous band Pink Martini this week. The Homer nonprofit is especially proud of the opportunity to expose Kenai Peninsula students to the wide range of music in Pink Martini’s repertoire.  KBBI’s Quinton Chandler has more.

 

     Homer Council on the Arts worked to bring Pink Martini to Homer for months and the band finally arrived early this week to perform two shows Monday afternoon and evening. Pegge Paver is the nonprofit’s new Executive Director. The decision to bring Pink Martini to Homer was made before she took the job. 

“I picked it up and have spent probably about 15-20 hours a week, since I got here on June 1st, putting all the logistics in play,” says Paver.

     She says Homer Council on the Arts was excited for the chance to bring a band of Pink Martini’s reputation to Homer but they were especially happy to introduce the band to the town’s youth. 

“A lot of the students who take band and orchestra classes here are trained classically. They don’t really have the opportunity to work in multiple languages or in multiple styles of rhythms. This group, they’re masters at that,” says Paver.

     The Portland based band agreed to perform for an assembly of students at Homer high school and a pair of students from Homer high were actually given the opportunity to play alongside the band.

“The students’ eyes really got opened to the breadth of musical opportunities that there are that they haven’t been exposed to,” says Paver.

     About 500 students attended the assembly in the high school’s Mariner Theater. The band also performed for an audience of all ages later that night. Booking Pink Martini wasn’t exactly easy. Paver says they’re paying the cost through a grant, ticket sales, and funds raised through a late night fundraiser. 

“I’m sure you can imagine a group like this is not cheap. It’s not like we’re looking to make money off of this. If we can break even we’ll be really happy,” says Paver.

     Paver says Pink Martini performed at a discount. The day after their performances in Homer the band left to perform in Kodiak.