Boston orchestra finds child who blurted 'Wow!' during performance
Group wanted to reward the youngster's enthusiasm for classical music
A performing arts group has found the child who was audibly wowed by a recent classical music concert.
The Handel & Haydn Society had just finished a rendition of Mozart's Masonic Funeral at Boston's Symphony Hall on Sunday when a youngster exclaimed, "Wow!"
The group was so charmed that they launched a search for the "Wow Child" with the help of audio of the moment captured by WCRB-FM.
It turns out the child is nine-year-old Ronan Mattin, of New Hampshire, WGBH-FM reported Thursday. He attended the concert with his grandfather Stephen.
Ronan's grandmother saw a TV report that said the society was looking for the child.
Stephen Mattin said Ronan is on the autism spectrum and expresses himself differently from other people. He said his grandson is a huge music fan.
Help <a href="https://twitter.com/handelandhaydn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@handelandhaydn</a> find this "wow" child! Find out more: <a href="https://t.co/TsjEQmeSYX">https://t.co/TsjEQmeSYX</a> <a href="https://t.co/CeZcciRM2G">pic.twitter.com/CeZcciRM2G</a>
—@995WCRB"I had told several people because I thought it was a funny story," Stephen Mattin said. "About how he was expressing his admiration for the performance and put everybody in stitches."
Handel & Haydn president David Snead said he is setting up a Skype meeting with Ronan and Harry Christophers, the society's artistic director who was conducting the night of the performance. The society will invite Ronan and his family back to the venue in October, when the 2019-20 season opens, for another Mozart performance conducted by Christophers.
Snead called Sunday's experience one of the most wonderful moments he's ever had in a concert hall.