I can’t believe that it has been a year since I was standing on the stage at Carnegie hall rehearsing with the New York pops symphony orchestra in preparation for my New York debut. In many ways so much has happened that it seems as though more time than just one calendar year has passed. There are so many memories that I certainly will carry with me forever of that wonderful night. To share all those memories here in this blog… well there just isn’t enough room on the screen to tell the full story of how life changing it really was for me, my career and my family. I want to thank all those who helped along the way to achieve this goal and also to let everyone know that the journey continues to get more interesting with every passing day.

I want to thank all those that contributed a non-perishable food item as well as donating to the the Mustard Seed Food Bank at my concert last evening. I’ve been told by Darlene MacDonald the assistant director of the food bank that all those donations added up to a whopping 2,617 lbs of food! That is truly amazing thank you all so much. Way to go Victoria!
Please tell all your friends and relatives who might be interested in attending my Christmas concerts in Nanaimo on the 19th and 20th of December that we will be collecting food and donations on behalf of the Loaves and Fishes food bank at the Port theatre.

I have just run out of my debut CD On the street where you live … however there are still a few copies available from Bullfrogmusic.com Just click the link to the Bullfrog music site instead of ordering the discs from PayPal. I want to let you all know that this shortage is temporary and we will have many more copies in stock very soon.

All the best

Ken

On Saturday April 11, my wife and I were escorted to a beautiful Beverly Hills estate, where I had the pleasure of performing with David Foster. The occasion was a private memorial service for a friend of David’s. He had asked me down to perform two of his pieces – the somber and melancholy ”Italia” (a piece featured on trumpet virtuoso Chris Botti’s album of the same name) and the uplifting and beautiful “Because We Believe.” David was the consummate professional and a generous performer. We had a little bit of down time between the sound check and the service, which was out doors, and we had a chance to chat briefly. He was funny and gregarious but also a true gentleman and took the time afterward to introduce me to some of the people he knew that had gathered for the occasion. Alice and I enjoyed our time down there and managed to get a little sightseeing in as well. Hopefully we’ll be able to post a few more pictures of our trip down there soon.

Here is an article that appeared today in the Times Colonist.

David Foster recruits Island tenor Ken Lavigne

Lavigne sings at lavish memorial

BY GRANIA LITWIN, TIMES COLONISTAPRIL 17, 2009

Four jets thundered by in tight formation, doing tight rolls above the 250 guests.Kobe beef hot dogs and steaks sizzled on the grill, and a white piano gleamed on a circular stage, ready for David Foster to accompany Victoria soloist Ken Lavigne.

“The whole event was spectacular and Alice and I were kind of gob-smacked,” said the Victoria tenor, whom Foster invited to sing during a memorial service, at the Beverly Hills estate of influential American developer and architect Raul Walters, who recently died at 68.

It was a golden opportunity for Lavigne, who recently performed at the self-rented Orpheum in Vancouver and Carnegie Hall in New York, in the hopes of boosting his international career.

“David put us up at a beautiful hotel on Rodeo Drive — not a very long street but a very expensive one — and we had a rented car to drive around in,” said Lavigne, who was there with his wife for about five days. “The event was incredible. I met people like former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who walked on the moon,” and Cody Karey, a former Foster talent winner who sang a prayer. “Everything was opulent, over-the-top, very L.A.”

Immaculate stables, a Moroccan-style cottage the size of a mansion and a ferris wheel were part of the nine-hectare property, “an unheard-of-size estate in Beverly Hills, according to lawyers who worked on amalgamating the property. Parts of it used to belong to Eddy Murphy and Cher.”

It was an eye-opener for Lavigne to mingle with “that part of the industry,” and people were very complimentary about his singing. The opportunity was also very moving.

“I’ve been singing David’s songs forever so it was an amazing experience to meet the man and perform two of his songs, I Believe and Italia, with him on the piano. I was completely honoured that he felt I would do them justice … and afterwards, he said we would absolutely be in touch again and looked forward to working with me again.”

glitwin@tc.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Victoria

Times Colonist