Ann Mitchell of Spencerport is an admirer of the great female voices of around the middle of the 20th century: Peggy Lee, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald.

But her favorite — the one who’s most been an inspiration to the jazz singer — is easily Judy Garland. Cemented in popular culture for her trip over the rainbow in 1939, the entertainer born Frances Gumm had many stages to her journey: singer in a sister vaudeville act (the Gumm Sisters) as a child; MGM star as a teenager; passionate — and troubled — performer in film, stage and television as an adult.

Mitchell will try to present music from throughout those stages next Wednesday, Jan. 13, when she appears with the Ann Mitchell Trio for the next installment in the “Making American Music” series. The 7:30 p.m. concert of music associated with Garland is titled “A Star Is Born: Music of the Silver Screen.”

“I wanted to highlight music from her best movies,” she said, “and in the second half, I’ll do concert music” from the concert-hall stage of Garland’s career. The show includes songs that have become standards in her and others’ hands — “When You’re Smiling,” “San Francisco,” “Suwanee” — and the well-known material from films such as “Meet Me in St. Louis” and “A Star Is Born.” She’ll also include some relatively obscure Garland songs, or at least songs not frequently popularly associated with the singer, such as the Noel Coward composition “If Love Were All.”

“I believe in doing what I can
Crying when I must
Laughing when I choose ...”

“I fell in love with her as a singer when I was young,” said Mitchell, who sang with a Rochester-based big band named Brass Menagerie before forming her own group. “I would sing along with ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ — I just loved the way she sang. She had such natural talent and passion. ... Her style of singing was very pleasant and very heartful. She had such a passion — very before her time.”

“There’s just something about the music, that I figured if I ever had the chance to do it, I’d do it,” she said.

Don’t expect an exact replica of Garland’s famous voice, though: It’s not that sort of tribute.

“I don’t try to copy her; I’m not an emulator,” Mitchell said. “I try to present the song as it is.”

Born and raised in Kendall, Mitchell studied voice under Rita Lowe and studied musical theater at SUNY-Brockport. Her current jazz act features a rotating ensemble of prominent area musicians. On Wednesday, she’ll be joined by pianist Bob Meadows, bassist Robert DeRosa and drummer Richard O’Connor.

“I like songs that tell a great story,” Mitchell said. “.. like music that just floats to the voice. And I love singing shmaltzy songs. I just love being able to have fun with the song.”