Since winning her first Tony Award for the title role in Broadway’s Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002, Sutton Foster has become one of the industry’s most celebrated performers.
For one night only, September 19, Foster makes her Soraya debut with the Pacific Jazz Orchestra, a 40-piece big band and string orchestra led by seven-time Grammy-nominated conductor Chris Walden, in an evening of Broadway favorites and beyond. The concert will feature new arrangements created by Walden specifically for this performance.
“I can’t imagine a more joyful way to open our season than with this special evening of music featuring Sutton Foster, Chris Walden, and the Pacific Jazz Orchestra,” said Executive and Artistic Director Chad Hilligus. “Sutton and Chris have been working together to create a one-of-a-kind debut performance for The Soraya, and I know our audiences will love it.”
A fixture on Broadway, Foster has originated numerous roles in notable musicals including Shrek the Musical, Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, and The Drowsy Chaperone, as well as bringing her signature comedic leading lady talents to major revivals such as Once Upon a Mattress, Sweeney Todd, The Music Man, and Anything Goes for which she won her second Tony Award. Sutton led the critically acclaimed TV Land series Younger and the beloved ABC Family series Bunheads, and has released three solo albums in addition to her 11 cast albums.
Founded in 2022 by Walden, the Pacific Jazz Orchestra embraces and reflects the diverse and enthralling soundscape of Los Angeles, where the ensemble was born, bred, and resides. The ultimate cross-over sensation is a unique combination of a jazz big band with a string section. The result is a group comprised of powerhouse L.A. studio musicians who deftly navigate musical styles ranging from jazz, Latin, soul, and R&B, to pop, musical theater, symphonic, and cinematic soundtracks.
Hailed as a “distinguished conductor” (Audio Media International) and “gifted and well-connected arranger-composer” (Santa Barbara Independent) who pens “exquisite string arrangements” (The Arts Desk), Walden “has built an illustrious career working behind the scenes with some of music’s biggest names.” He has scored more than 40 feature and TV films and written more than 1,500 orchestral and big band arrangements for such artists as John Legend, Michael Bublé, Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney, SEAL, Stevie Wonder, Rihanna, Barbra Streisand, and Josh Groban. He has also collaborated as an arranger and bandleader with jazz artists Diana Krall, Herb Alpert, Michael Brecker, Arturo Sandoval, and the Count Basie Orchestra and served as the lead arranger for the Academy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, American Idol, and even the Super Bowl, arranging Jennifer Hudson’s National Anthem performance.
The Soraya’s 2026-27 Season continues its journey by presenting the world’s finest symphonic orchestras, innovative dance companies, the freestyle and vast vibes of jazz, innovations of dance luminaries, and as always, a vast array of global voices.
The Soraya is located on the campus of CSUN at 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge. For tickets to the opening or any of the 2026-27 season events visit thesoraya.org or call the box office at (818) 677-3000.
