A mandolin maestro, heading to the stars

Chris Thile, the extraordinarily talented mandolin player, picked up the instrument for the first time when he was 5 years old.

He played with the band Nickel Creek for more than 15 years and won a Grammy in 2002. He's released solo albums, collaborated with artists like the Dixie Chicks, Bela Fleck and Dolly Parton, and now plays with The Punch Brothers, whom he affectionately refers to as "the boys."
His music defies genre classifications, which is just the way he likes it. There are flavors of bluegrass, jazz, rock, pop and folk running through his music. And now we can add classical to that recipe, because Chris has written a concerto for mandolin and orchestra.
He'll be performing the three-movement concerto, called "Ad astra per alas porci" or "To the stars on the wings of a pig" with seven different symphonies across the country. Chris and his mandolin will be here in Wilmington on Friday and Saturday night, performing with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra at The Grand.
We chatted with Chris about his music, the concerto and what it's like going from being a member of a band to playing with a full orchestra.
Q: Throughout your career, you've played with bands and other musicians. Does playing with the symphony have a more formal feel than just playing a show with your band?
A: I see what you're saying, that maybe it is more formal or something, but I don't think it has to be that way. I don't think that one has to be more relaxed than the other. Or that this is necessarily formal, and that was informal. To me those kinds of distinctions aren't necessary. I'm trying to approach these performances the way that I would approach anything that I do.
Playing the concerto, it presents a lot of the same kinds of difficulties that playing a three or four minute pop song presents. I'm desperately trying to conceive, compose and perform good music, regardless of whether it's playing it with Punch Brothers, or playing by myself or with an orchestra. My goal for the thing is to make good music.