Luft's husband, Colin R. Freeman, will serve as her music director and conductor. The concert will also feature Broadway veterans Tobi Foster and Blake Ginther, harmonica player Bernie Fields, and the New West Pops Singers under the direction of Rick Logan. Steven Goldstein will serve as artistic director and conductor of the overall concert.
The Pops Series will also present A Soulful Holiday Celebration, featuring "American Idol" veteran Elliott Yamin, Dec. 9. The series has been developed in partnership with Glendale Arts, which will also present Luft Sept. 16 and Yamin Dec. 8 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA.
Luft's program will include popular standards and selections from her acclaimed one-woman show, Songs My Mother Taught Me, a tribute to her mother, Judy Garland. Audiences can expect to hear "It's Today," "Blue Skies," selections from Babes in Arms, "The Man That Got Away," "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" and others.
Foster and Ginther, who are married, will perform songs from the musicals West Side Story, The Music Man, Oliver!, The Lion King, Jersey Boys and Mamma Mia! Fields and the New West Pops Singers will perform a medley of Henry Mancini songs.
The New West Pops were launched by the New West Symphony and will perform concurrently with the Symphony's Classical Music Series. A portion of the proceeds from the concert will benefit the Symphony’s Music Education and Outreach Programs, including Symphonic Adventures, a series of ten live free interactive educational concerts for young students attending schools in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A portion of the proceeds will also benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles. Luft's Broadway credits include Promises, Promises and Judy Garland at the Palace. She recently appeared in the U.S. national tour and the U.K. production of Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Off-Broadway credits include Extremities and Snoopy, and national tour credits include Guys and Dolls and They're Playing Our Song. She wrote "Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir" and co-produced the resulting ABC miniseries.
The Kavli Center is located at 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. For tickets, call (866) 776-8400 or visit newwestsymphony.org/pops.
