It's never too late to break the ice, and we have an excellent opportunity: usually Ragnar's work happens in the background, and is acknowledged after each chorus performance, when he springs up on stage to receive a deserved round of applause alongside MTT or whomever conducted the orchestra. But this week, starting Wednesday in Cupertino, and Thursday at Davies, he'll be holding the baton himself, leading the orchestra in Handel's Messiah, aka the Holiday Treat. He answers our questions after the jump. Hallelujah!

Picture of Ragnar by Roy Manzanares; below Camilla Tilling, courtesy of SF Symphony