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At the start of Morton Gould's groundbreaking "Tap Dance Concerto," horns chime in and the dashing man in a crisp tuxedo and shiny black shoes fronting the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra Sunday afternoon tapped his toe.

Tap. Tap-tap.

The sound was a melodic complement to the music, in perfect sync to the horns and strings.

Then the dancer, Sam Weber, did it again — tap — then in succession — tap-tap-tap.

Twirl, tap-tap-tap, shuffle. Soft. Loud. Slow and gentle. Fast and furious.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

This was not dancing choreographed to give your eyes something to gaze at aside from the orchestra. This was dancing written into the score alongside the strings, percussion, winds and brass. Weber was not merely dancing. He was making music.

That's how Gould intended it when he composed his concerto, at the time — 1952 — the only classical work of its kind. The dancer — in this case a celebrated virtuoso from San Francisco — performs as a solo instrument, complete with cadenzas.

As far as we can tell, this is the first time the work has been performed in Tucson; it wasn't even among the classical works tap sensation Savion Glover performed in his 2005 "Classical Savion" tour at Centennial Hall.

Which could explain why the Berger Performing Arts Center was filled to near capacity on what likely was one of the last cool days of spring.

After each movement ended, the audience — families with young kids in tow, couples in their 20s and 30s alongside the more traditional older classical music audience — burst into enthusiastic applause. When Gould launched into his first-movement cadenza, a series that created a rhythm and melody as he tapped across the stage, the orchestra members set their gaze upon him so steadfast that you wondered if they would remember what role they played. As the applause died down, they resumed playing without missing a note.

Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra Music Director Adam Boyles has a soft spot for the Gould concerto; Boyles is a passionate music maker and a lifelong tap dancer. Judging from his grin Sunday, combining the two under his baton was utter nirvana.

Boyles programmed the Gould as part of his final concert as the orchestra's conductor. He leaves this summer for a job with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he will teach and lead the MIT orchestra. He remains SASO's music director in title until his replacement is named, and he will conduct the ensemble in its 2007-08 season finale next June.

Sunday's concert also included Mackenzie's gracious Benedictus, which the orchestra dedicated to the victims of the Virginia Tech rampage and in the memory of Mstislav Rastropovich; and the first movement of Cimarosa's Concerto for 2 Flutes in G major featuring two talented flutists, Christine Harper and Renée Bond.

The concert closed with Schumann's Symphony No. 4 in D minor, which the orchestra performed with an amazing fluidity. Boyles' reading of the piece balanced the energy, tension, passion and joy, and the piece flowed wonderfully through the emotional roller coaster that Schumann intended.