The Kid Who 'Put Everybody In Stitches' At Boston Symphony Hall Has Been Found [View all]

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Seconds after the orchestra stopped playing Mozart's "Masonic Funeral Music" at the Boston Symphony Hall on Sunday, 9-year-old Ronan Mattin was so swept away by the music that he loudly exclaimed — for the whole auditorium to hear — "Wow!"

After a beat, as Ronan's awe-filled "Wow!" echoed throughout the hall, the audience burst into laughter and cheers. So charmed were the Handel and Haydn Society by the child's exclamation that they asked the public to help find him, hoping to reward the sweet sentiment with a trip to meet the artistic director. Audio of the concert was recorded by WCRB, Boston's classical radio station (and part of the WGBH Foundation).

Ronan didn't mean to be disruptive, said his grandfather, Stephen Mattin, who took Ronan to the concert. His grandson, Mattin explained, is on the autism spectrum, and often expresses himself differently than other people.

"I can count on one hand the number of times that he's spontaneously ever come out with some expression of how he's feeling," Mattin said.

https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2019/05/09/the-kid-who-put-everybody-in-stitches-at-boston-symphony-hall-has-been-found?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true