Mitra L. '07 | May 15, 2006
"Boston Pops"
Thanks to the organizational prowess of the Tau Beta Pi (engineering honor society) social chair and a generous invitation from a biochemical engineer, I went to the Boston Pops last Thursday night. Happy 125th anniversary to the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO)!
This is how lovely Symphony Hall looks when it is not so yucky outside.
Here's the beautiful ceiling of Symphony Hall.
We sat at the same table as lovebirds Thomas '05 and Shannon "Optimus Prime" '05 -- remember their engagement party last January?
That tall man in the middle is none other than John Williams! He has composed scores for scores of major motion pictures, including the Star Wars trilogy, the Indiana Jones films, the Harry Potter films, and Memoirs of a Geisha. The paragraph in the program that listed other films for which he has composed was approximately 35 lines long.
Here's what they performed:
A Postcard to Boston
(A Hymn to New England)
Three Pieces from Star Wars
(Main Title -- Anakin's Theme -- Imperial March)
Selections from Harry Potter
(Hedwig's Theme -- Aunt Marge's Waltz -- Harry's Wondrous World)
Jim's New Life, from Empire of the Sun
Suite from Memoirs of a Geisha
(Sayuri's Theme -- The Chairman's Waltz -- Brush on Silk)
Flight to Neverland, from Hook
Monsters Beauties, & Heroes
(King Kong -- Jaws -- Casablanca -- An Affair to Remember -- Robin Hood -- Superman)
Theme from Cinema Paradiso
Tribute to Three Legendary Composers
(Theme from Star Trek the Motion Picture -- Theme from Laura -- Theme from The Magnificient Seven)
The Olympic Spirit
On the Esplanade (along the banks of the Boston side of the Charles River) is the Hatch Shell...
...where the Boston Pops perform every 4th of July.
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Responses To This Entry:
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I went Friday night, and can I just say, in the encore he did the theme from ET, and I definitely peddled my imaginary bike while the music played.
ET Phone home.
Posted by: Bryan on May 14, 2006 05:36 PM
John Williams is also my brother-in-law's name!
Posted by: Dan on May 14, 2006 11:52 PM
AHHHH! JOHN WILLIAMS is my IDOL. I want to see him so bad, he's my favourite composer in the world.
You are so lucky! This is why MIT ROCKS
Posted by: Olga on May 15, 2006 01:09 AM
Howard Shore is perhaps the only one 2nd to John Williams.
Posted by: Ayush Gupta on May 15, 2006 10:15 AM
Hey Ayush, have you ever heard of Craig Armstrong? He's great too: http://www.craigarmstrong.com/
Posted by: Mitra on May 15, 2006 10:51 AM
Not second. First.
Posted by: Kallie on May 15, 2006 01:28 PM
I have realized that I am going to be in Cambridge for the 4th of July, since I'm arriving early for the summer... <drool>
Posted by: Christine on May 15, 2006 08:50 PM
Oh yes, Armstrong composed the music for "Ray". It was a pleasure listening to it.
Posted by: Ayush Gupta on May 16, 2006 08:56 AM
Absolve me for saying this, but Thomas '05 looks like a younger version of Bill Gates.
PS: Thomas, if you are a Windows/Microsoft hater, I don't intend to offend you with this observation of mine. =)
Posted by: Ayush Gupta on May 26, 2006 04:46 AM
