Keith Lockhart was a good-looking 35-year-old kid when he stepped to the podium and raised his baton as the Boston Pops’ 20th conductor on May 10, 1995.
Dubbed “The Kid” back then, 25 years later, he’s a seasoned, middle-aged maestro who turned 60 in November. And he still leads the Pops — long called America’s orchestra — with charisma, flair and keen musical chops that keep concerts fresh, lively and in tune with the times.
Pops pulls out all the stops during the upcoming spring season, May 6-June 13, as it celebrates Lockhart’s silver anniversary with his favorite performers and music.
“I’m thrilled with all we’ve accomplished over the years,” Lockhart said recently during his twice yearly phone chat with this Sun/Sentinel arts scribe. (See related story).
“There are so many highlights — I’ve conducted over 2,000 concerts. But what I’m proudest of is all the amazing guest artists who have performed with us and the good job we have done to branch out without losing our collective souls.”
A hallmark of Lockhart’s tenure at the Pops is his keen ability to make the Pops relevant to young audiences while still appealing to longtime fans.
Lockhart and Pops launched a national talent contest PopSearch in 2004 and a High School Sing-Off in 2008. In 2006, the Pops and Fidelity Investments joined then-Boston Mayor Tom Menino to surprise Boston-area students with $100,000 of musical instruments for their schools.
In 2005, Lockhart and the Pops created EdgeFest, an innovative series pairing the Pops in concerts with artists from the indie-music world.
More recently, Lockhart and the Pops initiated a conducting competition for students, ages 18-30, during the 2018 season-long celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s centennial.
In 2019, he led the BSO’s first-ever sensory-friendly concerts — one in the Pops spring season and another during Holiday Pops — designed for those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or sensory sensitivities.
“We try to attract a diverse audience, including the college crowd, and our goal has been to move the needle a bit younger to attract younger audiences,” said Lockhart. “The old Pops concerts were more like a variety show, and we’ve tried to change that.”
But Pops, under Lockhart, still retains favorite traditions, including patriotic medleys and “The 1812 Overture” and “Stars and Stripes Forever” at the hugely popular July 4th Pops Fireworks Spectacular concerts on the Esplanade, and sing-along Christmas carols during Holiday Pops.
More than 300 guest artists, running the gamut from Cyndi Lauper, Sir Elton John, Steve Martin and Sting to Mary J. Blige, Lou Rawls, Michael Chiklis, and Penn and Teller, have appeared with Lockhart and the Pops. He has led the Pops in appearances with the Patriots, the Red Sox, at the Super Bowl and Radio City Music Hall, and on TV with David Letterman and Conan O’Brien.
The accomplishments, accolades and memories are myriad for Pops fans and Lockhart alike.
He loves Boston. It’s his home along with his wife, Emiley Zalesky, a former staff member of Lowell City Manager Eileen Donaghue when Donaghue was a Massachusetts state senator, and their children.
And all of New England loves Lockhart.
“My 25th season is by no means a wrap-up,” said Lockhart. “The audiences like seeing me up there, and it’s where I plan to stay.”
Lockhart’s pronouncement, no doubt, has created a big, collective sigh of relief among his many fans and the Boston Pops.
Nancye Tuttle’s email is nancyedt@verizon.net. She has been covering arts and entertainment for in the Lowell/Fitchburg area for 42 years.
My 25-year friendship with Keith Lockhart
The emails from the Boston Symphony/Boston Pops press office arrive in my in-box like clockwork each spring and fall.
“Hi, Nancye. Keith Lockhart’s available to talk about the upcoming Pops (or Holiday Pops) season. Would you like to talk to him?”
It’s been that way for 25 years now, and I always answer, “Yes.”
Over those years, Keith and I have become phone friends. He has called me from a Pops tour bus navigating the mountains down South, with cellphone connection going in and out. He has called with a cold, barely able to talk between coughs. And since I moved to Maine several years ago, he calls with a little longing in his voice (he once had a getaway house up here), as he asks, “How is it in beautiful Maine?”
We talk music, of course, but he also shares how much he loves playing Lowell and Worcester and audiences there. When his wife, Emiley, was on the staff of former state Sen. Eileen Donoghue (now Lowell’s city manager), we talked about that. I ask about his kids, and he shares that he loves being a dad — albeit a bit older one (his youngest just turned 8, and he’s now 60.)
Seven years ago, I told Keith I was bringing my grandson, Jack, then 9, to Opening Night at Pops.
“Come on backstage after the concert. I’d love to meet you in person,” he said.
So that’s what we did. We went to the Symphony Hall stage door, joining a few other fans, including radio host Ron Della Chiesa and his wife, Joyce, to meet the maestro.
Keith seemed tired after the concert that had featured country singer Vince Gill as the special guest. He shook our hands and asked Jack where he went to school and what grade he was in.
Someone took our picture with Keith and promised to send it. They never did.
But that didn’t matter. We’d gotten backstage and met Keith Lockhart.
A few days later, someone at the BSO sent a photo they’d taken of Jack and me, a fine memento of a special night.
These days, I still look forward to my regular phone calls each spring and fall with Keith.
“How’s beautiful Maine?” he asked during our most recent call. “We’ve been doing these calls as long as I’ve been at the Pops.”
“Yes, we have,” I replied.
And then we talked music, the Pops and life in general — my longtime phone friend Keith Lockhart and me.
Celebrating Keith Lockhart’s favorite music, musicians
It’s a season to top all seasons as the Boston Pops celebrates Keith Lockhart’s 25th anniversary as maestro with a lineup of many of his favorite performers.
The comic/illusionist duo Penn & Teller appear on Opening Night, May 6, and again on May 7. They originally appeared in Lockhart’s first year as Pops conductor in 1995 — and sawed Lockhart in half. So who knows what will happen this time? Lockhart isn’t saying.
Guster, the alternative-rock band that made its Pops debut in 2005 in the first Edge concert, joins the Pops during opening week with concerts on May 8-9. Guster, which started locally in the 1990s at Tufts University, is a favorite of Lockhart.
“They started as young performers with a young following, and that following has grown up with them,” said Lockhart. “Having Guster perform as guest artists reflects what we’ve tried to do, reaching younger audiences.”
The rest of the season also features other Lockhart favorites, including Broadway star Megan Hilty (2013) and Jason Danieley (1999) on June 2, 3 and 4, and local songwriter/author Amanda Palmer (2008) and her husband, writer/storyteller Neil Gaiman, on June 11-12.
Lockhart leads a concert version of the Tony Award-winning musical “Ragtime” on May 21-22, created in honor of his 25th anniversary.
Salutes to film continue with a screening of the classic 1980 film “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,” accompanied by John Williams’ blockbuster score, on May 13, 14, 16 and 23.
Numerous other concerts continue through mid-June, including Lockhart leading “Star Wars: The Story in Music” on June 10.
For the full season and ticket information, visit www.bso.org or www.bostonpops.org.
Note: At press time the Boston Symphony Orchestra press office, which also handles the Pops, announced that the Pops season will still be held, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown of all public gatherings and events in Massachusetts through the end of April. As the Pops season gets closer, visit www.bso.org for the most recent updates.
Keith Lockhart at a glance
• Longtime Pops associate conductor Harry Ellis Dickson dubbed him “The Kid” when he came on the scene — even though he was 35.
• He’s a native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
• He started piano lessons at age 7.
• He holds degrees from Furman University in South Carolina and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, as well as a number of honorary doctorates from American universities.
• His passion for all kinds of music is reflected in programming that reflects his many musical interests.
• Before the Pops, Lockhart was associate conductor of Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops orchestras, and music director of Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.
• For 20 of his 25 years as Pops music director/conductor, he has had dual gigs. He recently completed a decade with the BBC Concert Orchestra. He still serves as artistic director of the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute and Festival in North Carolina. Before the BBC appointment, he was music director of the Utah Symphony for 11 years.
• At 60, he plans to stay closer to Boston for the most part, enjoying his family, but still guest-conducting on numerous occasions.
