Founded in 2001, the Auntie Karen Foundation creates a series of community outreach programs that empower, enlighten and educate through the arts.  Proceeds from the concert will benefit the various Auntie Karen Foundation programs. Come enjoy an amazing performance and help a great cause!

When: February 24, 2012 at 8:00 PM

Where: Koger Center, University Of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

Tickets:
Adults: Orchestra $66.00, Grand Tier $56.00, Balcony $46.00
AARP, Students, Groups of 10 or more: Balcony $41.00, Grand Tier $51.00
includes a $1.00 restoration fee

To buy tickets and get more info go to:

 http://www.capitoltickets.com/

Koger Center

Among the speakers was Santana Roberts an aspiring artist and mentee of Patti Austin. Santana is the daughter of two high school teachers in Providence, Rhode Island, who, like many middle class families, struggle every day just to make ends meet. Even during these trying times, they’ve continued to support their daughter who at a very early age dreamt of becoming a singer.

At the age of 12, Santana sent a letter to Patti Austin’s manager requesting a copy of a beloved arrangement that Patti had performed, called “A Tisket A Tasket.” Although hundreds of requests like these are received every day, this one caught Ms. Austin’s attention.

“Santana showed a great love for classic songs and great music at such a young age,” said Patti. “It reminded me of myself as a teenager.”

Thus was born a bond that has transformed a fan – celebrity relationship into an enduring mentor – mentee friendship. Mentoring has been a lifelong passion of Patti’s. With good friend and co-founder, Dawn Carroll, she helped launched the Over My Shoulder Foundation. Their charter is to foster mentoring, especially as it relates to music and then leverages the media to further the message … the art of “Mentorology.”

Patti’s passion for mentoring youth grows stronger every day as she continues her tireless mission to help those who need a helping hand. At a recent performance to celebrate Audio Technica’s 50th anniversary, Ms. Austin requested that a $10,000 charitable donation be granted as a scholarship to Santana Roberts, helping her to achieve her dream to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music.

“I’m beginning to live my anticipated dream and I look back on my young life and know that without the mentorship of Patti Austin my fire could have gone out,” remarked Santana Roberts. “Alongside my mom, I want to thank Ms. Austin for being my source of inspiration and continuing to believe in me.”

There is no greater reward then knowing that, in some small way, you’ve helped a fellow human. As we close out National Mentoring Month, join Patti Austin and the Over My Shoulder Foundation to help someone who needs a helping hand.

When: February 17th at 8:00 PM

Where: Philharmonie Luxembourg, Luxembourg

To buy tickets and get more info go to:

http://www.philharmonie.lu/en/programm/events.php?seite=event_details&id=2020

When: January 22 at 7:30 PM

Where: Emporia Greensville Performing Arts Center in Emporia, VA

To buy tickets and get more info go to:

http://www.mrac-arts.com/series_austin.html

When: January 21

Where: Carpenter Theater Richmond, VA at 8:00 PM

Tickets: $12 – $76

To buy tickets and get more info go to:

http://www.richmondcenterstage.com/event/richmond-symphony-genworth-financial-symphony-pops-ella-music-ella-fitzgerald-starring-patti-a

For more info or purchase tickets: Click Here or call the Box Office @ (317) 843-3800

The University of South Carolina is hosting the 9^th Annual Auntie Karen Foundation Legends of…concert series.  On Friday, February 24, 2012 at 8pm in the Koger Center for the Arts, Grammy Award winners Patti Austin and Ramsey Lewis will be performing!  The foundation creates and implements reproducible community outreach programs to empower, enlighten and educate through the arts.

To purchase tickets: Click Here or call (803) 251-2222

“Duke was a giant,” she said. “The music he and Gershwin wrote is just as fresh today as when it was composed. I’m thrilled to perform at the Kennedy Center with a six-piece band and the material we recorded with the same producer of our Gershwin album, Michael Abene.”

Onstage
Patti Austin
» Where: Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
» When: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday
» Info: $75; 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org
Following the show, guests are invited to the Grand Foyer Party featuring waltzing and swing dancing from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. and a big balloon count-down at midnight.
Austin’s distinctive timbre caresses the ear no matter that she is performing as a soloist or singing duets with such top stars as Johnny Mathis, George Benson and James Ingram. Her long relationship with Michael Jackson began with “The Wiz” when she was contracted to book 345 singers and handle all the paper work involved.

“That was before the PC,” she said, laughing. “Michael had very little to say. He just walked around with a paper and pen writing down anything that sounded remotely intelligent. The next time we met was for a project with Quincy Jones. The three of us were sitting in Quincy’s den when the phone rang and Quincy left the room. I’m not one to start conversations, so we both sat quietly. Then all of a sudden Michael began to talk and didn’t stop. We worked together quite a bit after that in the studio and live. His energy was over the moon. This was his renaissance period when he was like a fireball, almost nuclear.”

Austin credits Quincy Jones with stoking her career. Her epiphany came when she and her musician father attended the Newport Jazz Festival as a guest of Jones.

“I was just 13 and not a fan of Judy Garland,” she said. “I admired Ella, Dinah Washington and female black singers who simply walked on stage and sang beyond compare, so when Quincy told me I had to go out front to watch her, I wasn’t happy. At that time in her life, she was a sorry mess and didn’t have a lot of her voice left.

“But what I saw was amazing, one of the top three shows I’ve ever seen. Even without her voice, Judy was still a great actress. There was a screen on stage that she’d go behind to change her outfit and talk about the song she had just sung or the next one. In short, it was all about entertaining the audience. Afterwards, I went backstage with my father just as she was passing. She stopped, looked at me, took my face in her hands and kissed me.”

Austin has never stopped entertaining in her own inimitable style. Directly ahead in 2012 are concerts in Europe, South Africa, Australia and with the Boston Pops along the way. To facilitate her schedule and avoid traveling with an entourage, she has bands in Europe, Asia and on both U.S. coasts. Her upcoming Carnegie Hall concert honoring Ella’s Gershwin Songbook with Nelson Riddle arrangements is an event not to miss.

“Gershwin and Ellington composed music of their time that has endured and is relevant today,” she said. “Ellington left an incredibly intelligent body of work that is still rich at a time when music has been downsized. It’s an honor to be able to sing for another generation his powerful and timeless music that has never lost its gleam or glitter.”

@Paula,patteam

A great way to ring in the New Year! Spend the night swinging the past away and waltzing to new beginnings!

@Paula, patteam