I’ve always been a big fan of classical music, and my all time favourite composer is Mozart. It’s not just about the style of his music, it’s about the character he was – outgoing and passionate, Mozart loved life, but he didn’t take it too seriously, even though he was in what was considered to be a very serious profession. To say he was brilliant is an understatement – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in my opinion, is one of the most remarkable people that has ever lived.

I think he would have gotten a real kick out of this Internet stuff. Mozart was a sociable guy, and had a great sense of humour. He was also wildly intelligent – my bet is, he would have picked up on the technology part pretty quickly – and I’m sure he’d have sprung to Internet Rockstar status in no time flat.

When it comes to the great artists and composers, I often wonder what they would think if they knew that over the years their art and music had seen such longevity. What would Mozart’s reaction be if he knew that hundreds of years later his work is loved and honoured around the world?

I was thinking this the other night as I sat in Blogger’s Row watching Mozart’s Final Piano Concerto: Beyond the Score, at the National Arts Centre. This unique perspective was brought to life with the talents of the NAC Orchestra, pianist Katherine Chi, soprano Donna Brown, actor Pierre Brault, and narrator Bill Richardson. I was fortunate to be among several local bloggers invited to attend the performance.

The show was a performance of Mozart’s final Concerto – composed not long before his death at the age of 35 – interwoven between fascinating stories that captured the essence of living in Mozart’s day. A large projection screen showed many paintings and lithographs and really helped to create a striking mood.

The result was spectacular, engaging, educational and thought provoking.

The 2nd half of the show was a performance of the entire Concerto from beginning to end. Having heard the breakdown of each part in the first act, it gave me a whole new appreciation for what Mozart was trying to convey through his music.

After the show, the bloggers were invited backstage to take a look around, and have a little visit with Pierre Brault, who highlighted his appreciation for new media’s approach to promoting the arts.

My brother Mike (@aliendaddy), my good friend and creator of the soon-to-be-launched OttawaTonite.com Cheryl (@fendergurl) and I put together this video that captures the essence of the evening. (Well, Mike did most of the shooting and editing work.)

Many, many thanks to Jen Covert (@jcovert) and everyone from the NAC for making us geeks feel special!

Enjoy…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L45qyjZi7c

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UPDATE: Congrats to Crystal, who won the tickets to the show! See you there!

On Wednesday night I’m very excited to be attending Mozart’s Final Piano Concerto – Beyond the Score at the National Arts Centre here in Ottawa.

In the past, the NAC has had a bit of a reputation for being a rather stuffy venue, where the mucky mucks hang out sipping Perrier and lime before donning their opera glasses for the 2nd act. Well, I’m here to tell you that has ALL changed, my friends!

Over the past several years, The National Arts Centre has become one of the most dynamic, interesting, engaging arts venues in our city, if not the country. They continue to surprise me with their line up of remarkable theatre, music and dance. Just have a look at their list of upcoming performances and I’m sure you’ll find something that interests you.

I’m particularly excited about this Wednesday’s performance because it starts none other than Ottawa thespian extraordinaire, Pierre Brault. Pierre and I have a bit of a history together, in that we worked on the Cable 22 show “Way Cool” for many years. He was a bright spot in my Sunday mornings back then, and I’m overjoyed at the success he’s having.

Now, for the fun part. Myself, my brother Mike, and my good friend Cheryl have been invited to cover the event on Wednesday night. We’ll be bringing a video camera and will have some great behind the scenes footage to show you as well as some scenes from the show. So stay tuned to this blog for all that great fun!

In the meantime – if you are in Ottawa on Wednesday night and would like a chance to attend the performance of Mozart’s Final Piano Concerto – Beyond the Score yourself, then I have a pair of tickets to give away! So just leave a comment saying “I wanna go to the NAC, Suze!” and you’ll be entered into the draw. I’ll draw for the tickets tomorrow (Tuesday September 29 evening at 8pm). Be sure to leave your email address so I can get back to you!

Thanks and hope to see you on Wednesday!

Incidentally – since my blog cross-posts over on Facebook, I’m also accepting entries in the comments over there. :)

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On Friday night, a bunch of local Ottawa bloggers got the chance to really get their geek on, thanks to Jen Covert and the National Arts Centre, as the Sci-Fi Spectacular hit the stage. Not only were we treated to a great performance by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, we were part of a select group chosen to attend a backstage meet and greet with none other than George Takei, a.k.a. Mr. Sulu from the orignal Star Trek series.

My brother, Mike Thompson, is just about the biggest Sci-Fi fan you’ll ever meet. Well, until you meet my friend Mark Bell. I have to confess that I am not well versed on the Sci-Fi genre much outside of Star Wars and perhaps Star Trek:TNG, but Mark and Mike really were transported to another world by this performance.

I brought along our new Flip MinoHD camera to capture some of the goings-on of the evening, and my brother edited it together into a great little piece that I think sums up our evening really well. He’s even inserted our tweets from the night throughout the piece.

For anyone who thinks the National Arts Centre is a stuffy old place where only the hoity-toity go, think again. They are doing some really progressive stuff these days, with shows like this and all of their great new media ventures. What I really appreciate is that the NAC is reaching out to us bloggers to help them tell their story. And the consensus is, we’re happy to report that the NAC really is the place to be for arts, culture, and just plain fun in the Nation’s Capital.

So without further ado…ladies and gentlemen….The Sci-Fi Spectacular.

Update – here are some more Sci-Fi Spectacular photos courtesy of my pal @Elkae.

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