Boston Pops Release Special Tribute To Coronavirus Frontline Heroes
BOSTON (CBS) – It's a song that was composed to celebrate heroes and heroines on the athletic field during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Tuesday, the Boston Pops released a special video edition of Summon the Heroes fanfare – this time dedicated to the heroes helping fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Eighty-five musicians came together virtually to record the musical piece. Normally seen on the stage of Symphony Hall sporting their best formal attire, this time around members of the Pops and Boston Symphony Orchestra are each seen in their home or yard, many dressed in t-shirts and hoodies.
The Pops and conductor Keith Lockhart teamed up with Conductor Laureate John Williams, who originally composed Summon the Heroes.
"It was meant to celebrate our great athletes, our hero and heroines and their athletics who devote themselves every day to their work and become ambassadors of goodwill," Williams said of the piece. "Today we have a different set of circumstances, a different set of heroes and heroines who sacrifice every day."
"One of our players, actually a couple of months ago when this was just starting, said that we should record Summon the Heroes as a tribute to all those people, the medical community, our first responders, the people who keep us safe, in honor of them and their sacrifices that they're making for us," Lockhart explained. "We're very proud of it and I hope it brings inspiration and some comfort to everybody who sees it."
