This video has me choked up. Beautiful music, a pure expression of enjoyment, and the agreement that spreads through the audience as they begin the applaud. It's a beautiful moment.
For those curious about the music that inspired the spontaneous expression, it is Mozart’s Funeral Music played by the Handel and Haydn Society at Boston’s Symphony Hall.
This beautiful boy, Ronan, is the son of a friend of mine. He is autistic and this was actually the first word he ever said spontaneously and unprompted. If this story inspired you, there's a new children's book called The Boy Who Said Wow by Todd Boss, telling the story of Ronan and this concert.
I just finished listening to the story about this on National Public Radio. I myself am on the spectrum, so this resonates very strongly with me. I assure you that my eyes are not dry right now. As a musician that was not a natural, I struggled to learn to play. But I kept up with it because it gave me great joy. I am so happy that Rowen felt the power of this music. Extraordinary music reaches extraordinary people! I am so happy that we all had the opportunity to share in his joy!
I like how the audience is respectful and quiet as they frequently are in these types of settings, but when the boy gives a genuine "Wow!" it sort of invigorates the crowd and allows them to appreciate it the way he did.
This is why I'm so proud of being from NE. We welcome progress but hold fast to our world's history. Arthur Fiedler would have been in his glory on a little one who appreciated an amazing piece of music.
We all need some "Wow" moments in life .... at any age. I once stood in front of a Van Gogh painting (as a middle-aged man) and I said "Wow" and I have never viewed color in the same way. Van Gogh opened me up to a new way of seeing things.
I'd give that kid free seat in any concert he wanted to listen to. Honestly in the public of a classical concert you see people bored, you see people checking their mobiles, you see people who is obviously there by compromise. Now THIS boy. The he whole orchestra would give their best performance knowing that this boy is in the public.
What makes this so much more amazing and heartwarming is that the boy is usually non-verbal......and the guy who oversees this orchestra said that "WOW" was the best thing that has ever happened......truly beautiful!!!
That is what every musician wants. To have their audience react with joy and wonderment. No audience member could have expressed it better and that voice was the epitome of wonderment. Music is ment to touch the soul and reach parts of us that are untouchable in the physical sense. You can just tell it did exactly that for the little boy who is usually non speaking. Simply amazing in my opinion.
