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