What’s a musician to do when his iPad goes blank in the middle of a concert?

I’ll tell you.

Because it happened last July at St. Paul’s Church in the midst of an audaciously good performance by cellist Alexander Hersh and pianist Evren Ozel.

I can’t recall if it was Debussy’s Cello Sonata, or Dohnanyni’s “Ruralia Hungarica,” or the Cello Sonata from Chopin.  

Everything went silent. Hersh looked at Ozel who had a pained look on his face. Ozel looked at Hersh and pointed to his iPad and its very blank screen.

Technology. You’ve got to love it and hate it.

In the “old” days, Ozel would have had the print music in front of him and an attentive acolyte would periodically jump up and flip the page. Which I always felt distracting, fearful that the flipper would miss his or her cue. (I worry about all the wrong things.)

Anyhow, that was then. Now, the iPad scrolls or a foot button advances the pages. As long as the screen is working.

Ozel hustled off to find another computer and Hersh turned to the audience as sweetly composed as he had every right not to be.

He then proceeded to fill the time with a couple of stories that had this crowd in stitches. One was about a teacher, the coolest cellist Hersh ever met. (And how many cellists do you think of as cool?) This guy had a red cello case and wore a leather jacket.

Hersh also filled in the time with two short but stunning cello solos, not on the menu. He just pulled them out of his head.

The concert resumed and the two never missed a beat. Classical musicians can be tough cookies. The ovations were huge and so well-deserved.

Later, over dinner with Hersh, I marveled at how cool-headed he had been. So, here’s the secret (and the secret life of a classical musician) – when Hersh wasn’t performing classical music, he was following his other passion, stand-up comedy. In Chicago, which probably has the toughest comedy crowds in the universe.

He also writes and acts in many of his music videos – some are very surreal takes for the classical crowd. You should look him up on YouTube. You’ll love it.

There are musicians who come to the stage head bowed, barely acknowledging the audience. It works for them. Hersh isn’t one of those. And when something went wrong, he faced it head one and became a most endearing human being to this audience.

He is capable of a full-on charm offensive between pieces under the best of circumstances. He adds context, history, anecdotes, and quips in a gentle and engaging manner.

You know, like a good standup comedian might.

The reason you are getting all this is that Hersh returns this coming weekend, January 17 and 19 as part of the ProMusica International Concert & Opera Season.

The Friday program promises works by Debussy, Britten, and Brahms. On Sunday look for sonatas from Beethoven, Barber, and Prokofiev.

With Hersh will be the Boston pianist Dina Vainshtein, regarded as one of the finest accompanists touring today.

Tickets run $650, $450, and $300 pesos for the St. Paul’s Church concert. For tickets go to www.promusicasma.org. Be warned, I’m buying my ticket before this gets posted. I expect SRO crowds. Word gets around, you know.