By Brian Benson
A sea of red and black enveloped Symphony Hall as the final strains of “Stars and Stripes Forever” played to Northeastern alumni, staff and students at the 12th annual Northeastern Night at the Pops.
“We’ve found it’s a wonderful way to engage with our community, especially since Northeastern is our neighbor right down Huntington Avenue,” said Joe Heitz, a Boston Pops representative.
More than 1,300 university members attended the May 24 performance.
Jack Moynihan, vice president for alumni relations, said the evening was an ideal event for alumni to mingle and reconnect with old friends.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring alumni back and celebrate two great organizations,” he said.
The concert, titled “Film Night,” was led by Laureate Conductor John Williams. It featured a variety of movie themes, ranging from Williams’ hits like “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “Harry Potter,” to a tribute to composer Bernard Herrmann (“Psycho,” “Citizen Kane”). The Pops also mixed in Broadway tunes, including “All That Jazz,” and other Williams’ compositions like the “NBC Nightly News Theme.”
“I was happy with the variety of the program,” said Dayna Bradstreet, a junior psychology major who attended the concert with fellow members of the pep and concert bands.
While Bradstreet was pleased with the event, she said it could have been better marketed to the student body.
“I think students should have been better notified,” she said. “I only knew about it because I looked it up [on the Pops’ website].”
She said it was inconvenient because the students were unable to purchase tickets through the Alumni Office and had to contact Symphony Hall directly.
However, Moynihan said he has been working with the Office for Student Affairs to involve more students in such events.
“Everything we do now is to reach out to students and make a concerted effort to involve them in events,” he said, adding he felt the Pops night was well publicized to the Northeastern community.
Heitz said several other universities, including the University of Massachusetts at Boston, Boston College, Boston University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, hold similar nights. Harvard participated in the first college night in 1896, according to Symphony Hall archives. Northeastern’s concerts began in 1995.
Bradstreet said one of her favorite parts of the evening was when the Pops played an excerpt of the shower scene from the movie “Psycho” while the corresponding footage was shown.
In a lighter moment, Williams recognized Northeastern President Joseph Aoun, who was present, while jokingly bestowing upon him the nickname “Superman” before the orchestra played a selection from the films.
At the end of the program, the Pops performed Northeastern’s “Alma Mater” and “All Hail, Northeastern,” while those in attendance, including the Husky mascot, Paws, sang and clapped along.
“I really enjoyed hearing our school song played by professionals,” Bradstreet said.
As a finale to several encores, Williams invited Boston Symphony Orchestra trustee and Northeastern alumnus George Behrakis to guest conduct John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” as hundreds of red and black balloons cascaded toward the audience.
“I thought it was a nice tribute,” Bradstreet said of Behrakis’ appearance. “I wasn’t expecting it.”
