DELIGHTING THE AUDIENCE–Soloists Tobi Foster and Blake Ginther perform with the New West Pops in a recent concert at the Kavli Theatre, “Broadway meets Hollywood.” Leonard Coutin/Special to The Acorn The much-ballyhooed debut of the New West Pops, featuring headliner Lorna Luft, took place Sept. 19 at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza’s Fred Kavli Theatre and, for the most part, it proved to be a promising start for the fledgling spinoff of the New West Symphony.

Designed to attract a broader audience than its higher-minded relative, the New West Pops is led by artistic director Steven Goldstein, who is seeking to redefine what a “pops” orchestra is all about. Traditionally, pops orchestras were “Classical-Lite,” featuring accessible symphonic works like “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Grand Canyon Suite” and Strauss waltzes.

Goldstein’s vision is to create an “edgier,” contemporary sound, utilizing a rhythm section, electric guitar, drums and singers. Although classically trained, Goldstein also attended Woodstock as a teenager; the program, subtitled “Broadway Meets Hollywood,” reflects his wellrounded background as a composer and arranger for pop as well as for classical organizations.

Although butterflies probably contributed to his somewhat stilted spoken introductions, Goldstein conducted the orchestra with vitality and precision.

Misplaced were songs featuring guest vocalists Carmen Carter, a dynamic singer whose soulful treatment of “We Are Family” was incongruous for this orchestra, and the team of Tobi Foster and Blake Ginther, who, although excellent singers, sang the atmospheric “Somewhere” and “Maria” from “West Side Story” in an arrangement that was a little overwrought for my taste.

The orchestra, which is basically a big band with a string section that could barely be heard, is versatile enough to handle different kinds of arrangements; the strings could have backed these songs by themselves, which would have made for an effective change of pace.

The orchestra was splendid in an extended tribute to the music of Henry Mancini, beginning with the jazzy theme from TV’s “Peter Gunn.” Mancini’s expansive range of composing styles was wonderfully represented as the orchestra showcased the composer’s wit (“Baby Elephant Walk” and “The Pink Panther”) as well as his romantic side (“Moon River” and “Dear Heart”). The latter two featured exquisite and tasteful harmonica solos by Oak Park resident Bernie Fields.

For the final part of the program, Goldstein exited the stage in favor of Colin Freeman, who led the orchestra in a highly entertaining and supercharged set of songs featuring his wife, vocalist Lorna Luft. The daughter of Judy Garland (and halfsister of Liza Minnelli) made her entrance as if she were shot out of a cannon, enthused and energetic, despite battling the beginnings of a sinus infection.

Luft’s choice of material and honest, heartfelt between-song comments were refreshing for one who could have coasted through a “greatest hits of Hollywood” set. Instead, she paid tribute to one of Rodgers and Hart’s most magnificent but rarely heard scores (“Babes in Arms”), concluding with a rollicking version of “Johnny One Note.”

Her tribute to Garland (titled “Songs My Mother Taught Me”) was highlighted by an emotionally vibrant “The Man That Got Away” and a dynamic “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody.” (To her credit, Luft did not sing “Over the Rainbow,” telling me after the show, “I won’t mess with perfection.”)

Looking trim (she’ll be 58 in November), Luft still packs a powerful voice, with echoes of the wide vibrato that Garland exhibited later in her career. She closed the show with an inventive medley of classic movie songs that were (amazingly) “Not Even Nominated” for an Academy Award.

All in all, it was an encouraging debut for the New West Pops; hopes are high for continued success and innovation in the future. The talent is there, and the possibilities are limitless once it decides what it wants to be.