The HSO Pops season opener was terrific, and exhausting. To begin with, movie music in general is fairly difficult and physically demanding, especially the older music like the two Korngold pieces we opened with (The Sea Hawk, and Robin Hood). Second, when there is no featured act we are presenting, so much more responsibility falls on the conductor as host and entertainer. For this one, I also played the piano and the accordion, and I sang some of Rawhide. Not that I'm complaining... frankly, I had a blast, and seemingly so did the audience.

The orchestra again exceeded my already high expectations. To put this program together with so little rehearsal time was nothing short of heroic. Add to that the humor and energy they brought to the stage. That is what sells a pops concert. If the orchestra and conductor are having fun and the music is well chosen and well performed, you cannot go wrong.

Nice crowds again for both shows, particularly Sunday's matinee.

My favorite moment: on Sunday, when I played the accordion solo for The Godfather Suite, Odin (our concertmaster) and several other string players got up and put dollars into the accordion case. A few pieces later, when Odin had a schmaltzy solo in The Green Leaves of Summer, I stopped conducting and threw a couple of dollars at him. Classic.