Courtesy of Kaitlyn Lusk

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Percussionists scooted between gongs, Japanese taiko drums and cymbals.

Piccola player Paula Karrer doubled on the whistle.

Tucson Symphony Orchestra principal flutist Alexander Lipay switched between his flute and a pan flute.

And Concertmaster Steven Moeckel played two violins — his own and a rented Hardanger Norwegian fiddle that he had to learn to play for the TSO's journey to Middle Earth.

Howard Shore's epic "Lord of the Rings Symphony" may be all about orcs, elves and hobbits like Frodo Baggins, but on Saturday, it was about Tucson.

The TSO, with some help from the TSO Chorus and the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, was the latest in a string of fine American orchestras to stage Shore's magnificent symphony — culled from 12 hours of Shore's Oscar- and Grammy-winning soundtracks for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

The sold-out performance on Saturday — Sunday's matinee concert also sold out — was four years in the planning, Executive Director Susan Franano told the audience.

It was well worth the wait, musically and as a marketing tool for the orchestra. Franano polled the audience: How many had never seen the orchestra? A quarter of them clapped.

Apparently "Lord of the Rings" fans, including a trio of young women dressed in costumes, aren't scared off by the word "symphony."

The beauty of "Lord of the Rings Symphony" lies in its ability to appeal to the die-hard fans of the movies and to those who never saw the films.

That universal appeal is what has made Shore's symphony a sellout since he began touring it worldwide in 2003. If you've seen the movie, you can visualize the scenes as the orchestra opens with the cinematic "The Prophecy" and wends its way through six movements. The concert's first half was devoted to "The Fellowship of the Ring"; the second was split between "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King." Throughout, storyboard images from the movies are woven into a video played on a giant screen.

The music goes from cinematic to symphonic with sweeping nods to both. German conductor Markus Huber, Shore's go-to for most productions, brings unbridled energy to both styles.

His energy might have played against him to some degree Saturday. During the pulsating "A Knife in the Dark," Huber delivered pounding percussion matched with muscular brass. The music was so loud that it drowned out the miked singers.

A few times, guest soloist Kaitlin Lusk also couldn't be heard above the orchestra, which made you wonder if it was more of an overall testament to the Music Hall's acoustics than loud playing.

But Lusk had no problem being heard and adored on her solos. The strength of her mezzo-soprano is its pliability to criss-cross operatic and pop styles. Admittedly she was strongest when her voice was not strained at the lower registers demanded for the operatic turns. Her most fluid and pure moment was in the pop-tinged "Into the West," which earned her one of two outbursts of applause.

(Note to the uninitiated: Symphony concert etiquette says you hold applause until the end. Note to the veteran patrons: Consider ditching the etiquette. It zaps the fun out of spontaneous, well-deserved applause.)

The audience also applauded Boys Chorus soloist James Mendola, whose maturing tenor lost some strength on the higher ranges. But he delighted the audience with his bravery.