Ever present in classic Broadway musicals, the tap dance number, so typical of American culture, was a favourite moment for the audience. Composer Morton Gould loved rare and incongruous combinations. After composing a piece for rapper (spoken word) and orchestra and another for a group of firemen singing with an orchestra, he wrote his Tap Dance Concerto in 1952 for tap dancer Danny Daniels. It is a charming neo-classical piece, but a daunting one for the dancer who has to perform non-stop for 20 minutes in a precise score that leaves him little time to improvise his steps.

Artist in residence, pianist Marc Perrenoud, has composed Small Heel, concerto for piano and orchestra at the request of the OSR especially for this morning's concert.