The Fort Worth Orchestra adds some salsa to the mix

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra transformed itself into the Fort Worth Salsa Orchestra on Friday night at Bass Hall.

Still the FWSO, but what a difference that "S" made!

The concert was billed as "Hot! Hot! Hot! A Night at the Copa." Actually, there was little of the nightclub atmosphere in evidence, but what occurred proved much more interesting.

The program was an encounter with Grammy Award winner Victor Vanacore, a virtuoso arranger and orchestrator who has worked for musicians ranging from Ray Charles to the Fifth Dimension, the Jackson Five to Johnny Mathis.

He is not a composer, so there was no original music. Instead, Vanacore strung together a kaleidoscope of well-known tunes based on Latin dance rhythms such as the samba, rumba, mambo, tango and even the Latin hustle.

Vanacore incorporated a grab bag of sources, from the traditional, such as the Mexican Hat Dance, to bits of classical music, such as the slow movement from Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez (which the symphony will play on Halloween weekend with guitarist Jason Vieaux.)

From the movies, he harvested Over the Rainbow and borrowed the Dance at the Gym from Bernstein's West Side Story. Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive shared the stage with YMCA from The Village People.

It was an eclectic combination of ingredients tossed into a musical paella, all set to a driving Latin beat.

Hubba-hubba.

As a conductor, Vanacore was most successful when he didn't conduct. When he sat at the piano or conducted like a jazz band leader, the music was free and vivacious. Unfortunately, when he picked up the baton and tried to become a symphony conductor, his tight and inexpressive beat constricted the music, and it lost energy.

Since the theme of all the arrangements was dance, it was fitting that there were dancers. The husband-and-wife team of Andrzej and Jennifer Przybyl flashed on and off the stage for every other number. He was in a skin-tight jumpsuit with slicked back hair. She was in a collection of spangly and skimpy dresses with lots of swish.

They didn't have much wiggle room in front of the orchestra, but they added a terrific visual element to the proceedings.