May 19, 2010: The Boston Pops' Kennedy tribute

>> Rooney: THE BOSTON

POPS IS CELEBRATING IT'S

125 ATH ANNIVERSARY WITH

TWO PERFORMERS WITH ROBE ROBERT

DE NIRO AND MORG DAN

FREEMAN.

JARED BOWEN HAS MORE.

>> THE DREAM LIVES ON, A

PORTRAIT OF THE KENNEDY

BROTHERS RECEIVED ITS

WORLD PREMIER AT SYMPHONY

HALL LAST NIGHT.

IT IS THE CELEBRATION OF

THE MANIFEST DREAMS OF

JOHN, ROBERT, AND TED.

>> IT IS TO BE A CAUSE FOR

GOOD IN THE WORLD AT

LARGE.

AND TO TAKE CARE OF EACH

OTHER.

>> POPS CONDUCTOR KEITH

LOCHART COMMISSIONED THE

PIECE ON THE OCCASION OF

THE ORCHESTRA'S 125th

ANNIVERSARY, IN THE YEAR

FOLLOWING SENATOR

KENNEDY'S DEATH.

>> IT IS A DAUNTING TASK

TO COME UP WITH MUSIC THAT

IS WORTHY OF SOME OF THESE

SENTIMENTS.

>> THE CREATION FELL TO

PETER BOYLE AND LYRICIST,

LYNN AARONS.

SHE SPENT MONTHS TO WRITE

THE NARRATION AND TO

SELECT THE PIECE'S TEXT.

>> THEIR LANGUAGE IS

HEIGHTENED, AND ORITORCAL,

AND ALSO VERY LYRICAL.

IT HAS A LOT OF POETRY IN

IT.

THEY TALK ABOUT THE SEA,

AND USE IMAGES OF THE SEA.

>> IN WRITING THE MUSIC,

BOYER SAYS THE BROTHER'S

OPTIMISM INFORMED HIM

MOST.

>> THIS PIECE DOES NOT

DEAL WITH HOW THEY DIED,

BUT HOW THEY LIVED.

THEY LIVED WITH OPTIMISM,

GUSTO, AND BELIEF, BELIEF

OF WHAT WE CAN DO TOGETHER

AS MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN

FAMILY.

>> ASSEMBLED LAST NIGHT

WERE SOME OF THE FAMOUS

VOICES OF ALL TIME.

ROBERT DENIRO DELIVERED

WORDS, AND THE SENTIMENTS

OF THE LATE SENATOR WERE

SPOKEN BY MORGAN FREEMAN.

SPEAKING EARLIER IN THE

DAY, ALL EXPRESSED A VERY

SOBER APPRECIATION NOT

ONLY FOR THE TASK AT HAND,

BUT FOR THE KENNEDY

SPIRIT.

>> I'VE MET JOHN-JOHN, AND

I'VE SEEN HIM AS A LITTLE

KID, AND HIS SISTER, AND I

HAVE SEEN THEM WHEN THEY

WERE OLDER, WHEN JOHN WAS

IN NEW YORK.

AND SO THERE IS A LONG

HISTORY.

I GET EMOTIONAL.

>> I DON'T THINK I'M ANY

DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER

AMERICAN WHOEVER KNOWS OR

WAS AROUND WHEN THESE

THREE MEN WERE SORT OF

GUIDING HOW -- WHAT IS THE

WORLD I'M LOOKING FOR --

THE SENSE OF OURSELVES IN

THE WORLD.

>> THE KENNEDY BROTHERS

HAVE BEEN THE POLITICAL

LEADERS WHO I'VE PUT MY

FAITH AND TRUST IN, AND

WHO'S IDEALS, I THINK,

HAVE REPRESENTED THE BEST

HOPE FOR THE WELFARE OF

THE PEOPLE OF THIS

COUNTRY.

>> GROWING UP IN WEST

TENNESSEE, THERE WERE TWO

THINGS THAT I KNEW AND

LOVED ABOUT BOSTON,

MASSACHUSETTS: THE

KENNEDYS AND THE BOSTON

POPS.

>> THE 15-MINUTE

COMPOSITION EBBS AND

FLOWS.

A SIMPLE JOURNAL AS AARONS

DESCRIBES.

>> THIS IS WHAT THEY WERE

LIKE.

HERE IS WHAT THEY HAD TO

SAY.

AND INFORMATION, THEY

LEAVE THESE WORDS TO US.

>> TO THINK THAT THESE

WORDS LITERALLY CARVED

INTO STONE IN ARLINGTON,

THAT HAVE OUTLIVED THOSE

WHO SPOKE THEM, AND THAT

WILL OUTLIVE ALL OF US,

THAT I'M SUPPOSED TO TREAT

THIS MUSICALLY AND PROVIDE

A CONTEXT TO TURN IT NOT

FROM A STONE MONUMENT BUT

INTO A LIVING WORK THAT WE

HAVE EXPERIENCE TOGETHER

WAS VERY OVERWHELMING.

>> Reporter: AND NOW IT

IS KEITH LOCHART'S HOPE

THAT THE MUSIC WILL

ENDURE, OUTLIVE US AS A

TESTAMENT OF A MUSICAL

INSTITUTION'S AFFECTION

FOR A FAMILY.

>> Rooney: WE GOT TO SEE

THAT EXTRAORDINARY EVENT

LAST NIGHT.

JARED BOWEN IS HERE.

ARE THERE A COUPLE MORE

PERFORMANCES?

>> LAST NIGHT WAS THE

WORLD PREMIER.

KEITH LOCHART HADN'T EVEN

FULLY LISTENED TO IT.

BUT THEY'RE DOING IT AGAIN

WITH ER BALDWIN AS A

NARRATOR, AND THEN WITH

CHRIS COOPER.

IT WAS WRITTEN TWO WAYS,

SO YOU COULD HAVE THE

THREE ACTORS, PLUS THE

NARRATOR, OR JUST WITH ONE

PERSON GUIDING IT ALL.

>> Rooney: I THOUGHT

SHERRY JONES WAS

FANTASTIC.

THE OTHERS WERE GOOD, BUT

AS THE ONLY WOMAN THERE,

SHE CARRIED THE TONE.

THE OTHER GUYS ALL SEEMED

NERVOUS TO ME.

>> I THINK THEY WERE

NERVOUS.

AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE,

THEY CERTAINLY FELT THIS

GREAT WEIGHT.

THEY GOT VERY EMOTIONAL --

ROBERT DENIRO WASN'T THE

ONLY ONE WHO SHED A FEW

TEARS.

THERE WAS SUCH EXPECTATION

AND SO MUCH INVOLVEMENT

WITH THE KENNEDY FAMILY,

THAT EVERYBODY FELT IT.

SHERRY JONES IS A THEATER

ACTRESS, SO SHE BROUGHT

THAT GREAT DELIVERY.

AND HAVING THE VIDEO

THERE -- THE TOUGH PART IS

YOU WANTED TO HEAR SENATOR

KENNEDY AGAIN.

>> Rooney: I POINTED

THIS OUT TO YOU, THEY HAD

A BOX OF KLEENEX ON EVERY

SINGLE TABLE.

GOVERNOR PATRICK STOPPED

BY OUR TABLE, AND IT WAS

SORT OF HIS IDEA TO TAKE

THIS.

>> THIS ALL STARTED WITH

KEITH LOCKHART WANTING TO

DO A PIECE ABOUT JOHN F.

KENNEDY, AND HE HAD DINNER

WITH GOVERNOR PATRICK

RIGHT AFTER HE WAS

ELECTED.

AND HE SAID NO, NO, I

THINK YOU SHOULD LOOK AT

DOING IT WITH ALL THREE

BROTHERS.

>> SADLY KEITH LOCKHART

WANTED SENATOR TED KENNEDY

TO BE THE NARRATOR.

>> Rooney: THAT IS IT

FOR "GREATER BOSTON."

CHECK OUT MY RADIO SHOW,

FOLLOWED BY THE CALLIE

CROSSLEY SHOW AT 1:00.

THAT'S IT.

YOU GUYS ARE RUSHING RIGHT

THROUGH.

I GUESS THAT IT.

STANDARD FOR A LIVE

EDITION -- MAYBE IT IS NOT

LIVE.

"GREATER BOSTON" WILL BE

BACK TOMORROW.

WHAT IS IT?

ALL RIGHT.