{"id":102090,"date":"2024-03-04T14:18:29","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T19:18:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=102090"},"modified":"2024-03-05T12:51:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T17:51:55","slug":"scrutiiny-the-orchestra-meets-wildlife-in-dan-browns-wild-symphony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/03\/04\/scrutiiny-the-orchestra-meets-wildlife-in-dan-browns-wild-symphony\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTIINY | The Orchestra Meets Wildlife In Dan Brown\u2019s Wild Symphony"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Graphic
Graphic from Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony (Courtesy of the TSO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dan Brown: Wild Symphony (A Young People\u2019s Concert). Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Trevor Wilson, TSO RBC Resident Conductor; Ramona Gilmour-Darling, Narrator. Roy Thomson Hall, March 3, 2024.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is no stranger to revered conductors, but ask any of the children at Roy Thomson Hall this past Sunday and they would likely champion one: Maestro the Mouse.<\/p>\n

While a cartoon rodent didn\u2019t technically conduct, remarkable as that may have been, the young aesthetes-in-training still got the message. After all, the intent behind Wild Symphony, a musical book written and composed by Dan Brown (yes, of The DaVinci Code), is largely to garner interest in classical music among children. The children\u2019s poetry book, first released in 2020, tells the story of Maestro the Mouse as he gathers a group of musical friends from the animal kingdom to play in his orchestra. Among them are brilliant bats, dancing boars, and anxious ostriches \u2014 each with a complementary score.<\/p>\n

\"Trevor
Trevor Wilson, TSO RBC Resident Conductor, conducts the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Ramona Gilmour-Darling narrates Dan Brown\u2019s Wild Symphony (Photo: Marzieh Miri)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The circular lobby of Roy Thomson Hall offers a bit of this wildlife in person. Wild Ontario, an educational program based out of the University of Guelph, is on-premises with Mowat the barred owl doing live demonstrations. Other pre-show activities include Long and McQuade\u2019s instrument discovery zone and a special performance by Brampton’s Youth Orchestra.<\/p>\n

The concert itself features 21 movements in total, none longer than two minutes. Trevor Wilson, the resident TSO conductor, leads the orchestra while Ramona Gilmour-Darling (formerly of The Big Comfy Couch) narrates the show. It\u2019s uncommon to see a plush armchair on stage alongside orchestra chairs and music stands, but this is where Gilmour-Darling removes her heeled shoes and opts for a pair of fuzzy slippers. As she opens the book and begins reading, we\u2019re transported to an afternoon storytime session.<\/p>\n

Two screens project Susan Batori\u2019s book illustrations to guide us from one animal to the next. The musical pieces are impressionistic \u2014 in \u201cWoodbird Welcome,\u201d hollow percussion reminiscent of woodpeckers and upbeat strings easily mimicked a bird chirping at dawn. \u201cClumsy Kittens\u201d is a sly tune that inched forward like a cat ardently stalking prey. Brown particularly shines as a composer during the pieces devoted to underwater creatures. \u201cThe Ray\u201d is stunning, with a gliding, sophisticated gait. \u201cWondrous Whale\u201d does something similar, honouring the handsome cetaceans with a dramatic, almost ominous ballad. Movements like these are elegant and sophisticated, but Brown never veers too far from his audience. There are plenty of springy, trombone-heavy pieces (\u201cBouncing Kangaroos,\u201d \u201cHappy Hippo\u201d). These are silly and whimsical. The kids eat it up.<\/p>\n

\"Trevor
Trevor Wilson, TSO RBC Resident Conductor, conducts the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Ramona Gilmour-Darling narrates Dan Brown\u2019s Wild Symphony (Photo: Marzieh Miri)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Still, it\u2019s generally hard to keep the attention of mostly four to eight-year-olds for an hour. While attention occasionally wavers, one particular movement stands out as the afternoon\u2019s favourite judging by crowd response. \u201cEager Elephant\u201d is an amusing illustration of a calf attempting to match the grandeur of a mature elephant\u2019s fanfare. Each trumpet sequence is mimicked by a timid, shaky violin. The crowd erupts in laughter each time the violin makes another attempt at matching the register. Eventually, the young elephant gains confidence and girth, and the piece flies into harmony.<\/p>\n

The end of the show is signalled by the winding down of tempo, almost as if the concert is scoring an entire day from morning to night. A dulcet, delicate \u201cSwan In The Mist\u201d leads into a reflective and somber \u201cCricket Lullaby.\u201d If this were not a show for children, it would be a dramatic way to end.<\/p>\n

But this is not that type of show. \u201cMaestro Mouse Reprise\u201d brings us back into one final swoop upwards. The symphony welcomes the crowd as part of the final movement with a decrescendo, making space for the audience\u2019s rhythmic clapping. This is the fun \u2014 and even the point \u2014 of an interactive show. Gilmour-Darling reminds us that \u201clife\u2019s a symphony.\u201d Go wild.<\/p>\n

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The Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony remind us that \u201clife\u2019s a symphony\u201d at yesterday’s young people’s concert.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":102091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40967,76,19,49,52,63],"tags":[41073,41072,3360],"yst_prominent_words":[6825,19536],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/03\/Copy-of-REVIEW.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-qyC","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102090"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102090"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102124,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102090\/revisions\/102124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102090"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=102090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}