First things first: yes, the Houston Symphony will be performing the Oscar-winning soundtrack of “Black Panther” this weekend. Just don’t take that as a sign the orchestra is jumping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with both feet — at least not yet.

“‘Black Panther’ is an important and hugely popular film, with a thrilling orchestral score that we expect audiences will love to hear performed live,” the orchestra said in a statement.

“While the Symphony didn’t choose this film because of its place in the MCU, we chose it because of its compelling story and unique score which gives the Houston Symphony musicians the opportunity to show their versatility — as well as the opportunity to welcome drum master Massamba Diop to the Jones Hall stage,” the statement added.

Directed by Ryan Coogler, “Black Panther” was an unqualified success: its $700 million-plus in worldwide box-office receipts made it the highest-grossing film of 2018. Thematically and politically, it was light-years ahead of other superhero movies (MCU brethren included), grappling with institutional racism and colonization alongside the more familiar beats of identity and revenge; the movie also drew praise for its several strong female characters. Out of its seven Academy Award nominations, including best picture, “Black Panther” won three: for costume and production design as well as Ludwig Göransson’s original score.

瑞典籍Goransson满足Coogler南加州大学电影school and went on to score several of his films, including “Fruitvale Station” and the “Creed” franchise. (Other notable credits include “The Mandalorian” and Childish Gambino’s Grammy-winning “The Is America.”) While researching “Black Panther,” he traveled to Africa extensively, closely studying popular Senegalese singer Baba Maal, whose voice appears on the soundtrack. The result is an unprecedented fusion of Western orchestral music, American hip-hop and R&B, and traditional African sounds.

“That’s one of the things I find so brilliant about it, because he seamlessly weaves those three elements together,” says Houston Symphony principal Pops conductor Steven Reineke. “You can tell other people thought it was really good too, because it won the Academy Award for best score and won a Grammy that year.”

One area where the score is especially vibrant, notes Reineke, is in the percussion writing. “This is a field day for our percussion section because they have a lot to do back there, and they really, really get to shine,” he says. In addition to the African-derived marimba, Göransson uses several different drums not normally found at symphony concerts, including congas, bongos, small hand drums and enormous Japanese taiko.

But the most important instrument in the “Black Panther” score, by far, is the tama, the cylindrical instrument known as the talking drum and renowned for the expressive qualities of its sound, often likened to the human voice. Göransson uses the tama as a proxy for the main character, King T’Challa, honoring the role the talking drum has played in African society for centuries.

For the soundtrack, the composer enlisted Diop, a longtime member of Baba Maal’s band who is renowned as one of the top tama players in the world. In Africa, “all the governors and the president have a tama player, the mayor has a tama player,” Diop explains. “When the mayor needs to have a meeting, they call the tama player to send a message from village to village. Very unique in Africa.”

Something else that sets the “Black Panther” score apart is its length.

“It’s wall-to-wall music,” says Reineke. “I can’t remember what our longest break is, but it can’t be more than a couple of minutes. It is nonstop action for the orchestra.

“We’re playing almost the entire movie,” he adds. “And it is difficult music. It’s challenging. It is written to the level of true professional musicians, which makes it fun for them.”

For Diop, playing “Black Panther” live represents a new wrinkle. When recording the soundtrack, he could play practically off the cuff, relying on “hand and mind,” he says. A full orchestra, with which he’s performed in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and a handful of other cities, calls for much tighter synchronization. This format has taken some getting used to, he admits, but also hasn’t presented any significant challenges so far.

“Talking drum is my life,” Diop says. “I know my talking drum. I understand. When I’m in rehearsal, I do that very rightly. I think I’m fine.”

Chris Gray is a Galveston-based writer.