Tech Night at the Pops has been a tradition at MIT for 105 years. Tomorrow night at 8 p.m., conductor Keith Lockhart will lead the Boston Pops, along with 60 members of the MIT Concert Choir and Chamber Chorus, in a sold-out concert that includes selections from musicals such as "Oklahoma" and "Porgy and Bess."
The Pops will also perform Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait," narrated by Associate Provost for the Arts Alan Brody. Lockhart has chosen several well-known patriotic works such as "This Land is Your Land," as well as "Song of Democracy" by Howard Hanson, a stirring setting of Walt Whitman's poetry. And, as tradition demands, the concert will conclude with a singalong version of MIT's alma mater, "In Praise of MIT."
The Class of 1952 will present Lockhart with a special gift, an engraved slide rule, at this year's Tech Night before he begins "The Star-Spangled Banner." Lockhart has agreed to use this tool dear to the hearts of engineers as a substitute for his baton for this piece.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on June 5, 2002.
