The Symphony in Your Living Room
A nostalgic celebration of the music behind generations of animated classics.
Box Office & Ticket Policy: The Ottawa Pops Orchestra box office sales are managed exclusively through Tuxedo Ticket Solutions. All ticket sales are final and non-refundable. Exchange requests may be submitted more than seven (7) days before the performance and will be considered on a case-by-case basis, subject to availability. Exchange requests cannot be accommodated within seven (7) days of the performance or after the event has taken place.
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Long before we ever stepped into a concert hall, we discovered the joy of orchestral music from the comfort of our homes. Every Saturday morning, unforgettable cartoon adventures were brought to life by brilliant symphonic scores that made us laugh, gasp, and cheer.
Join the Ottawa Pops Orchestra for a celebration of the unforgettable music behind generations of animated classics. From the golden age of cartoons to today's biggest earworms, this concert invites you to relive the magic of Saturday morning. Bring your living room to our concert hall, wear your favourite pajamas, enjoy cereal at intermission, and let us be the soundtrack to your Saturday morning.
Behind the Music
Before We Knew Their Names
Long before many of us stepped into a concert hall, we were already listening to one. Saturday morning cartoons introduced generations of children to the music of Rossini, Wagner, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, and countless other composers through unforgettable animated adventures. For many listeners, those cartoons became the gateway to a lifelong appreciation of orchestral music.
The Art of Mickey Mousing
Have you ever noticed how cartoon music seems perfectly synchronized with every movement on screen? Composers call this technique "Mickey Mousing," where the music mirrors the action with uncanny precision. Every leap, chase, pratfall, and punchline has its own musical gesture, making the orchestra as much a part of the storytelling as the animation itself. The technique became a hallmark of the Golden Age of cartoons and continues to influence film scoring today.
The Animation Laboratory
Before feature-length animated films became possible, Disney's Silly Symphonies served as a creative laboratory where artists experimented with new animation techniques, colour, storytelling, and music. Many of the innovations that later appeared in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were first developed in these groundbreaking shorts. Nearly a century later, studios like Pixar continue the tradition, using animated shorts to develop new technology, nurture emerging filmmakers, and explore fresh storytelling ideas before bringing them to the big screen.
Ever Wonder Why They're Called Looney Tunes?
The name wasn't just a clever play on words. Inspired by Disney's Silly Symphonies, Warner Bros. created Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies to showcase its growing catalogue of music. The earliest cartoons were built around songs, with the animation carefully choreographed to match the score. Before Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck became household names, the tunes came before the toons.
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