Consider the clarinet.

It's been said that no musical instrument has more in common with the human voice, its tone rich but breathy, its ability to convey emotion as captivating as the best storytellers in song. It can sound so communicative that you almost expect words to come out of the end of that black-lacquered tube of wood.

So when you encounter an artist who really knows how to make the clarinet speak, it's an experience to be savored. Such a musician is Anthony McGill, who certainly seems to be the clarinetist of the moment. He holds his instrument's principal chair in the New York Philharmonic, but takes a fair amount of time away each year to perform recitals and solo with orchestras.

Such as the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, which he's performing with this weekend. On Thursday evening, he made his SPCO debut in Northfield at Carleton College's intimate Kracum Performance Hall, but will be continuing his brief weekend tour with concerts in St. Paul and Arden Hills. Thursday's concert was a fine showcase for McGill's expressive way with the clarinet, as well as an opportunity for audiences to expand their expectations of what a clarinet can do.

Because let's face it, classical fans: Rare is the opportunity to catch any clarinet concerto but one in concert. That would be Mozart's, and it's so popular that it's been No. 1 when some classical radio stations have asked listeners to name their favorite piece. That's right: Beethoven symphonies? Bach's "Brandenburgs"? Mozart's masterful operas? The Mozart Clarinet Concerto has beaten them all when it comes to vox populi.

So it's understandable that McGill and the SPCO concurred that it should be the finale of this weekend's concerts. But here's the surprise: Preceding it on the program is a clarinet concerto by Joseph Bologne, the Parisian violinist and orchestra leader who finally had a movie made about his extraordinary life ("Chevalier," released in April). Did he write a clarinet concerto? No. But composer and clarinetist Derek Bermel created one from a flamboyant Bologne show-off piece, his Violin Concerto in A.

And McGill made it a very interesting addition to the clarinet concerto repertoire. Having heard the original violin version, I was concerned that it might be a noodlefest comparable to the last five minutes of "Freebird." But there was plenty of lyricism to be found, especially in the playful dancing of the first and final movements, both very much in the classical-era template of Mozart and Joseph Haydn. (Considering that Bologne the orchestra leader premiered works by both composers, who influenced whom is an open question.)

Not to give short shrift to the very well-played Benjamin Britten Sinfonietta that opened the concert, but the main attraction here was clearly the Mozart concerto. And it was a fine performance, McGill bringing a beautiful tone to every note in his expansive register, his fast phrases fluid and sweet. While a quieter orchestra could have made the central Adagio even more bliss-inducing, dynamite dynamics were otherwise the order of the evening.

The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra

With: Clarinetist Anthony McGill.

What: Works by Benjamin Britten, Joseph Bologne and Mozart.

When and where: 11 a.m. Fri. and 7 p.m. Sat., Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul; 2 p.m. Sun., Benson Great Hall, Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive, Arden Hills.

Tickets: $11-$55 (students and children free), available at 651-291-1144 or thespco.org.

Rob Hubbard is a Twin Cities classical music writer. Reach him at wordhub@yahoo.com.