Class of '31 Invades Symphony Hall To Noise of Balloons, Corks, Pops

From the wail of motorcycle sirens to the popping of champagne corks, 1931's Symphony Hall safari last night was one long succession of musical mis-chief. Two classmates and 92 members of the Boston Pops lent professional dignity to the merrymaking.

Leonard Wood '31, violinist and publisher of the Arlington Advocate, led the Orchestra in Wagner's "Prelude to The Meistersingers," while 1,500 reunioners tippled to the Teutonic tunes. Balloons festooned the gilded balconies and 1931 Harvard banners emboldened the stern crenellations of Boston's biergarten.

Showman Arthur Fiedler led his group of symphony musicians in their old standby's--semi-classical arrangements heavy on strings and brasses. But for the returning Harvardmen, their wives, and children, G. Wright Briggs '31 was the sensation.

After playing solo piano in his own arrangement of Cole Porter tunes under Fiedler's direction, the conductor of the Harvard Band picked up his own baton for a series of Harvard medleys. The modal renditions of College songs were punctuated by the popping of Crimson balloons on the tips of the violinists' bows.

This morning at 8:45 a.m. the first bus leaves for the Essex County Club in Manchester for a day of sports and sun. Latecomers can leave as late as late as 9:30. At night, the Reunion Committee has reserved the North Shore Music Theatre for a Broadway production of "Kismet."