“Twenty-five years ago, Wouter Van Looy was a classically trained violinist who decided to start a music and arts festival for children in his native Belgium,” writes Lynn Saxberg in Saturday’s (2/15) Ottawa Citizen (Canada). “Part of his mission was to deconstruct the conventions of classical music…. Inspired by work he’d done in children’s theatre, Van Looy presented shows that would not only engage kids with music, lighting design and stagecraft, but also let them explore, participate and make discoveries…. The concept was a hit and within a couple of years, the festival expanded beyond Belgium with a punchy new name, Big Bang.” The festival was presented at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre in 2019. “Each festival assembles a group of about 10 children, aged 10-13, that welcomes visitors and provides feedback to organizers…. Last year’s inaugural Big Bang festival [at NAC] attracted an enthusiastic crowd of 8,000 people of all ages.” This year’s events included the National Arts Centre Orchestra, conductor Alexander Shelley, and stage director Maxime Genois giving “a fresh perspective on experiencing Mozart. Kids can even try their hand at conducting a professional orchestra… A sound installation … features an interactive platform that children can dance on.”
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