Having celebrated his twentieth anniversary as Boston Pops Conductor in 2015, Keith Lockhart is the second longest-tenured conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra since its founding in 1885. He took over as conductor in 1995, following John Williams's thirteen-year tenure from 1980 to 1993; Mr. Williams succeeded the legendary Arthur Fiedler, who as at the helm of the orchestra for nearly fifty years. During his tenure, Keith Lockhart has significantly expanded Pops programming, focused on national annual touring, and participated in major media events. He has solidified the orchestra's place in the fabric of the New England community and has led the Boston Pops in countless performance situations. The list of more than 250 guest artists with whom he has collaborated is a virtual "who's who" of performers and pop culture icons.

Keith Lockhart, who occupies the Julian and Eunice Cohen Boston Pops Conductor chair, has conducted more than 1,900 Boston Pops concerts, most of which have taken place during the orchestra's spring and holiday seasons in Boston's historic Symphony Hall. Mr. Lockhart has also led annual Boston Pops appearances at Tanglewood, 43 national tours to more than 150 cities in 38 states, and four international tours to Japan and Korea. He and the Pops have made 79 television shows and participated in such high-profile sporting events as Super Bowl XXXVI, the 2008 NBA finals, the 2013 Boston Red Sox Ring Ceremony, and the Red Sox Opening Day game at Fenway Park in 2009. The annual July 4 Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular draws a live audience of over half a million to the Charles River Esplanade and millions more who view it on television or live webcast. Last year, with Eaton Vance as presenting sponsor and Bloomberg exclusive media partner, the Pops organization presented its first self-produced Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, which was broadcast on Bloomberg Television and all its media outlets. Both companies made initial three-year commitments to the event in 2017.

Mr. Lockhart has led eight albums on the RCA Victor/BMG Classics label, including two-The Celtic Album and The Latin Album-that earned Grammy nominations. Recent releases on Boston Pops Recordings include The Red Sox Album, A Boston Pops Christmas-Live from Symphony Hall, and The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers, which was a Boston Pops commission premiered in 2010 during the orchestra's 125th season. Released at the beginning of the 2017 Pops season, Lights, Camera…Music! Six Decades of John Williams features Keith Lockhart leading the Boston Pops in a collection of Williams compositions from the 1960s onward, some of which can be considered rarities.

Programming-wise, Keith Lockhart has put an increased focus on musical theater, attracting such leading Broadway artists as Kristen Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Kelli O'Hara, Bernadette Peters, and Billy Porter to the Pops stage. He has worked closely with hundreds of talented young musicians, including Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, college students from the Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, and area high school students. He introduced the PopSearch talent competition and the innovative JazzFest and EdgeFest series, featuring prominent jazz and indie artists performing with the Pops. He is dedicated to building and updating the Boston Pops library of music, which contains over five thousand arrangements.

With a renewed commitment to bring the Boston Pops into the Boston community and to important civic events, Keith Lockhart and the Pops have appeared at gubernatorial and mayoral inauguration ceremonies; the annual tree lighting in Boston's Public Garden; sporting events including Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics games; and the memorial service for the Boston Marathon bombing victims. He has led free concerts in such major public spaces as Boston Common and Franklin Park, and each holiday season brings members of the Pops to play for patients at Children's Hospital.

Perhaps the most significant key to Keith Lockhart's success is his ability to connect passionately with audiences through his engaging programs, his commitment to speaking directly from the stage with fascinating insights into the music, and his inherent understanding of the importance of what sets the Pops experience apart from a traditional orchestra concert-an atmosphere of music-making that is both fun and entertaining for music lovers of all ages.

Having just completed an eight-year tenure as principal conductor, Keith Lockhart is now chief guest conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra in London, which he led in the June 2012 Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II; he is also artistic director of the Brevard Music Center summer institute and festival in North Carolina. Prior to his BBC appointment, he spent eleven years as music director of the Utah Symphony, which he led at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. He has appeared as a guest conductor with virtually every major symphonic ensemble in North America, as well as many prestigious orchestras in Asia and Europe. Prior to coming to Boston, he was the associate conductor of both the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops orchestras, as well as music director of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. Born in Poughkeepsie, NY, Keith Lockhart began his musical studies with piano lessons at the age of seven. He holds degrees from Furman University and Carnegie Mellon University, and honorary doctorates from several American universities. Visit keithlockhart.com for further information.

Wellesley High School Keynote Singers and Rice Street Singers
The Wellesley High School Choral Department consists of over 300 singers in five curricular choral ensembles and have earned a reputation as one of the largest and most prestigious choral programs in New England. The Keynote Singers and Rice Street Singers represent the most advanced choral singers at Wellesley High School.  In recent years, the Keynote Singers have performed with the Handel and Haydn Society Collaborative Concerts, the Wayland/Wellesley Festival Chorus, the University of New Hampshire Choral Gala, and the MICCA Gold Medal Showcase.  The Rice Street Singers have earned 10 consecutive gold medals at the MAJE State festival, performed with the grammy-winning New York Voices at the NAfME Eastern Division Conference, presented clinics at state and regional conferences, and are the 2-time reigning high school champions of the WGBH television show Sing That Thing. The Wellesley High School Keynote Singers and Rice Street Singers are honored to perform once again with the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Keith Lockhart and we hope to enhance your holiday season with Home Alone in Concert. 

Dr. Kevin J. McDonald is the Director of Choral Activities at Wellesley High School, the Director of the Young Men’s Chorus of the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Director of Youth Music at Wellesley Village Church. 

At Wellesley High School, McDonald has cultivated a thriving choral program with over 300 singers, 5 curricular choirs, and a dynamic  acappella program. McDonald’s ensembles are highly regarded maintaining a vigorous performance calendar serving the greater Boston community and consistently engaging in collaborative efforts with such organizations as the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Saengerfest, and the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus.

McDonald is an active guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician. He conducts middle school and high school festival choirs, most recently conducting the Western European Honor Choir in Düsseldorf, Germany and the NHMEA All State Jazz Choir.  McDonald is a public speaker and clinician presenting professional workshops for music educators at state and Eastern Division conferences on such topics as Recruitment and Retention of Men in the Choral Program, Vocal Jazz Repertoire Selection and Performance, and Student Connections in the Choral Classroom.