When Andie Weiner was 3, her grandparents took her to see her first musical: a live performance of “Peter Pan.” She sat in the front row and mouthed the word to every song along with the performers.

And with that, a theater lover was born.

After getting bit by the acting bug, Weiner spent her childhood on Long Island playing piano, performing in musicals and going into Manhattan to see shows. 

“Most kids do not like getting dragged to the symphony with their grandparents,” she said. “But I was that kid who was like ‘Ooh, yes, I love this.’ That feeling of sitting in an audience and just being completely wowed as a young kid is just so unforgettable.”

Weiner is now paying it forward and introducing the next generation to the performing arts through her co-op at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The fourth-year theater/psychology combined major at Northeastern University has found her favorite role yet in her position working on the development side at the symphony.

A typical day might range from helping volunteers create flower arrangements, contributing to event planning and hashing out old gift agreements with donors. Weiner is particularly excited about the youth education component and the chance to help with the holiday gala that will introduce students to the symphony.

“When I found out I was going to be on that project, I literally teared up,” she said. “My whole goal … was to bring music and theater into as many lives as possible. I was a child who was really influenced by music and the arts, and if I could present music to a child in the Boston area and get them really interested in music and the arts, that’s my dream come true.”

Of course, her ability to get up close and personal with the music doesn’t hurt either. Just working around the historic building on Massachusetts Avenue has given her the chance to enjoy the music. She was recently working on a project backstage when she overheard the orchestra playing the theme for “Jaws” and “E.T.” in a dress rehearsal.

“I just sat down (and) was like ‘I have the coolest job ever,’” she said.

Weiner came to Northeastern focused on becoming a performer, but was keen on exploring her other interests, including music. She joined MIHNUET Northeastern, an organization that brings music to nursing homes and hospitals around Boston and the a cappella group, the Downbeats, where she’s been on the executive board for four semesters and president for three. She found she thrived in the duties brought on by her executive role, like booking shows and running auditions.

“Running that group is kind of like running a nonprofit, and it’s my favorite thing to do,” Weiner said. “So when I saw I could do this on co-op full time (at the symphony), I was like ‘This is so perfect.’ Personally, I excel in the more administrative side of things. That’s something the co-op program taught me, and it’s been really valuable to learn there are careers outside performance in the arts world. Arts administration is kind of perfect for me.”

New adventures await with our 2023-24 season! Tickets on sale now → https://t.co/gGWpEkawD5 pic.twitter.com/F6Ml6Ao0LN

— Boston Symphony (@BostonSymphony) September 19, 2023

Weiner will wrap up her BSO co-op in December, then spend the spring working on her capstone — a one-person show about a Jewish mother who gives her baby to another family to keep him safe during the Holocaust. The play, told from the perspective of the two mothers, is based on Weiner’s grandfather who was placed into hiding with another family when he was 10 days old.

But with a few months still left in her co-op, she can already say it’s shaped what she wants to do after she crosses the stage at graduation in the spring. 

“If I can do this for the rest of my life, I would be happy,” she said. “Ideally, I’d love to be an artistic director at a theater company or big music organization. That’s the ultimate dream. It showed me there is a place for Type A people in the arts.”

Erin Kayata is a Northeastern Global News reporter. Email her at e.kayata@northeastern.edu. Follow her on Twitter @erin_kayata.