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David Foster said he retired from “making records” last December

David Foster retired Donald Trump Katharine McPhee

 

 

 

 

 

David Foster met Donald Trump at a fundraiser

David Foster did not expect to meet Donald Trump playing a fundraiser at Florida’s Florida president earlier this year, but he wished he had a piece of advice.

“What I wanted to say that night at Mar-a-Lago — which I didn’t say — is when you’re doing a concert, if the room hates you, you’re going to do a terrible job,” the Victoria-raised producer said during an interview earlier this week.
“It’s just the weight of the room hating you. The president is faced with a lot of hate, and I’m sure that’s weighing him down.”

Foster took some action on social media in February after affirming a charity event to what Trump calls his “Winter White House”. The musician insists that he does not know the president he was planning to attend, even though he had already pledged to play a role in supporting the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute a year earlier.
The man behind Whitney Houston “I Have nothing” and Peter Cetera’s “Glory of Love” calls Trump “associate” and “acquaintance” for almost 20 years, but has remained away from links to Trump in the past.

David Foster refused an offer to attend Trump’s inauguration

In December he posted a message on Instagram claiming he had “kindly and respectfully” refused an offer to attend Trump’s inauguration, a statement that followed the rumors he was helping to align the artists for the ceremonies related to the grip of Trump.

“I live in America and I have an American passport as well as a Canadian passport. He’s my president, and that’s the end of the story,” Foster said.
“I’m a Democrat so, you know, that could almost start and end this conversation.”

The veteran of the music industry is active in many charities and has marked the 30th anniversary of its foundation David Foster with the annual Miracle Gala and concert last Saturday in Vancouver. The live entertainment evening included Oprah Winfrey, Steven Tyler and Carly Rae Jepsen’s appearances.
The showcase raised $ 10.2 million to help families with children who need organ transplants. The funds go towards reducing the weight of mortgage payments, travel costs and other expenses.
Some celebrities have turned up in the city days before the event, Foster said. Tyler in particular wanted to make sure he pulled out an impeccable performance. The producer said they become big names like the rock star and Winfrey to engage the time has become easier over the years.

“If you believe in karma, I think a lot of it comes back to you,” he said, while suggesting he’s also become bolder in his approach to recruiting famous people.
“Kenny Rogers taught me a long time ago (that) you should never go to the artist or celebrity directly to ask them.
“Whenever I wanted to do a duet with somebody I’d always have my manager reach out to their manager. I guess I kind of broke that rule when it comes to charity.”

David Foster retired from making records?

Foster isn’t planning any more duets in the studio any time soon. The producer said he retired from “making records” last December.
Next year he plans to embark on a 10-concert tour to raise money for his foundation. He’s also writing two musicals on the side and appears as a judge on the reality competition series “Asia’s Got Talent.”
He expressed hope that Trump, a former reality show star himself, can push for more unity in the United States.
“We need to try and uplift this presidency and hope that good things happen,” Foster said.
He added: “Even the most staunch Democrat is in some way pulling for him to get it together and do a good job.”

Source:  CTVnews

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Live concert with David Foster, Steven Tyler and more artists [Video]

David Foster Steven Tyler live concert 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rogers Arena was packed with stars Saturday night when the David Foster Foundation hosted its 30th Anniversary Miracle Gala & live Concert.

Over the past three decades, Foster, a Victoria and Grammy native music producer, used the annual gala to raise funds to support non-medical expenses of more than 1,100 families whose children are undergoing pediatric organ transplants, covering costs such as food , rental payments and flights.

The live concert has attracted entertainers, athletes and philanthropists from all over North America, including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Tyler, Goldie Hawn, Dr. Phil McGraw and Jay Leno.

Carly Rae Jepsen’s performance, which she said would include her hit “Call Me Maybe,” comes just months before she heads on tour with pop star Katy Perry. “I’m very proud to be supporting such an incredible event and on top of that I’m in my home town so all my family and friends are here as well,” she said.

Jepsen admitted she was also star-struck by the gala’s impressive lineup. “I’m just going to spend all night hunting for Oprah,” she said.


Source: Canadian Press

Foundation CEO Michael Ravenhill said the gala was a celebration of 30 years of passion and volunteer engagement, board members, and all those who contributed along the way.

He recognized how some great names helped to grow the event. “Raising money is not easy and creating awareness is not easy, so with David, we’re pretty blessed because was a have a voice that can actually help,” he said.

Vancouver’s Canucks president, Trevor Linden, was delighted to have the Rogers Arena team’s ice event.

David Foster is a “local hero” for his work to support families in need

Linden called Foster a “local hero” for his work to support families in need time and spoke of the importance of becoming a donor of registered organs to save lives. “I don’t know if there’s any greater gift (than) the opportunity to donate an organ,” he said. “I think it’s something we should all think about and think about registering.”

Foster reflected on the achievements of the foundation ahead of the gala. “We’ve come a long way and we’re going to continue, as long as the need is there we’re going to do it,” he said.

He added that he’s bumped his goal to establish an endowment fund for the foundation from $30 million to $50 million by 2018 so that “hopefully long after I’m gone it’ll still be doing the work.”

 

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David Foster works on three new projects in New York

david foster works on new projects

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were hard times for David Foster Foundation

David Foster admits that there was time when the future of charitable foundation bearing his name was uncertain.

The organization that collects funds for survivors of pediatric organ transplants has helped with the medical expenses of over 1,100 Canadian families to date. This weekend celebrates its 30th Gala and Concerto Anniversary in Vancouver with a line of stars, including Oprah Winfrey, Jay Leno, Goldie Hawn and Steven Tyler, to name a few.
The 16 award-winning producer and musician outlined the goals he has for the foundation, which he admits, was inadequate in the early 2000s.

“We hit a serious lull about 15 years ago when I took my eye off the ball and we were down to $49,000 in the bank,” said Foster. “So I decided to get fierce and we expanded across Canada and had a major shift in the board in 2010 that lead to making a $30 million dollar commitment, which will probably turn into $50 million by the end. The $49,000 was my fault and the $50 million will be due to a lot of others, not just me.”

The list of others is a true celebrity of entertainment and sports as well as corporate superstars such as Boston Pizza founder and Dragons’ Den member Jim Treliving. Foster is candid about what it takes to get the likes of Oprah to join you on stage.

“It’s begging, really,” he said. “We all do things for each other on occasion, as I appeared at Goldie’s fundraiser awhile back, and so on. Jay Leno, who I know but not well, just volunteered to be there because he’s one of those great guys who is very charitable. Steven Tyler did our event in Calgary which was a huge blowout and he donated money to the foundation that night.”

There have been numerous 250 events to support the foundation and have been able to bring in a very varied and A-list guest group at all. Like every show, you get to use your connections. Sometimes celebrities could be linked, like German Tommy Haas, who is Foster’s father-in-law. As always with this annual event, David Foster works on and promises that there will be some surprise names added to the already loaded roster.

“I always do my best to give the crowd a little something extra and they won’t be disappointed,” he said. “Honestly, I get star-struck myself being around people like Oprah. There is just something about her.”

David Foster new production: Carla Bruni ‘s “French Touch”

Recently, Foster plied his producer chops with no less than a celebrity model and star singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. The newly released album, titled French Touch, is the first English version of the Franco-Italian vocalist. The cover song collection ranges from Highway to Hell AC / DC to Clash Jimmy Jazz and standards such as Stand By Your Man and Moon River that have given a distinctive cool jazz.

“To Carla’s credit, she lead me on this album because she didn’t want the David Foster sound even though she wanted to work with me,” he said. “She has a huge fan base, who probably prefer to hear her sing in French, and had very specific ideas of how to do this which included my string arrangements. I think we succeeded, mainly because of her keeping the album cool because she just reeks with coolness.”

This eclectic project falls beyond the popular pop kingdom of Foster. David Foster works on the project he thinks is humble enough and he hopes to help Bruni bring a broader fan base.

David Foster works on new projects in New York

Surprisingly, Foster is taking his talent away from pop and heading to Broadway. He bought a home in New York and is working on three different projects, all destined for the musical theater stage. Among the projects is an adaptation of Amy Bloom’s Lucky Us novel, a project he can not name and – of all things – a musical based on the iconic Max Fleischer Betty Boop comic character. The first cartoon character to be ever profiled in A & E biography television series, the character featured by Mae Questel, appeared in over 100 cartoons from 1932 to 1939.

The show was fast for production next year, with readings in December. David Foster works writing musicals, explaining his interest comes from a love for form and a good song.

“The way to explain it, is that when I wrote all those hits in the 80s and 90s, I did it with abandonment and didn’t think about it,” he said. “But when you get older, you eventually start to go from leading to chasing to write for a particular artist or style. The thing about Broadway is that you don’t have to do that, because it’s about the song suiting the story, and I find myself behind the keyboard writing with abandonment again.”

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David Foster bringing big names to Vancouver for foundation’s charity concert

David Foster 2017 foundation gala concert

A star formation musician is coming for a concert to Vancouver in October for the thirtieth anniversary of the David Foster Foundation.

Concert tickets are already on sale for the event on October 21st.

On Monday, the foundation announced its first wave of confirmed presentations:  Steven Tyler, Jay Leno, Robin Thicke, The Tenors, Matteo Bocelli and Laura Bretan. Other musicians will come, they said in a press release.

Tickets for the gala concert at Rogers Arena cost from $ 49 to $ 119, plus taxes.

“The portion of concerts on our 30th anniversary gala will be one of the biggest nights of Vancouver music, as David Foster is joined by Steven Tyler and a handful of remarkable entertainers,” said Michael Ravenhill, CEO of David Foster Foundation.

Over the past 30 years, the foundation said they spent millions to cover non-medical expenses for more than 1,000 Canadian families with children undergoing rescue organ transplants.

The foundation also promotes the registration of organ donors.

“Over 90% of Canadians support organ donor registration, but less than 25% of us are registered,” added Ravenhill. “When families face the most difficult times of their lives – when their baby is sick and needs a transplant – our role is to come alongside the family and take that financial weight so that they can concentrate on the whole their focus on the baby and do not have to worry about losing their home or wondering where they are to get the money to pay their bills.

Foster, originally from Victoria, was won 16 Grammys in his career. He founded his eponymous foundation in Victoria in 1986.

David Foster Foundation 30th Anniversary Miracle Concert
Sat, 10/21 09:00 PM
Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

Buy tickets

 

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David Foster Miracle Concert

Calgary, AB, September 27th, 2014

Join for a magical evening surrounded by celebrities, entertainers, business and community leaders… hosted by 16-time Grammy Award winner David Foster.

With the ongoing support of people who care, the David Foster Foundation is able to continue the work it has done for more than two decades. This will be an event that will likely never be replicated within the next decade or more – so don’t forget to save the date!

Here’s how you can be a part of this magical evening:

View the Invitation
Gala dinner and concert tickets book tables or single tickets for the gala dinner and Miracle Concert
Become a sponsor

To learn more about the David Foster Foundation, visit www.davidfosterfoundation.com.