30 Years with Keith Lockhart
On February 6, 1995, the BSO announced that 35-year-old Keith Lockhart had been appointed the 20th Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Over the past 30 years, Keith has collaborated with actors, astronauts, politicians, and athletes, as well as with musicians from across a wide range of genres, including Broadway, jazz, American songbook, gospel, folk, R&B, world, and classical music. He and the Pops have recorded 13 full-length albums.
His tenure with the Pops includes over 2,250 performances, 45 national tours to more than 150 cities, and five international tours, including the Pops' first trip to Korea. He and the Pops have made 80 television shows (including 10 seasons of Evening at Pops) and participated in such high-profile sporting events as Super Bowl XXXVI, the 2008 NBA Finals, the 2013 Boston Red Sox Ring Ceremony, and, most recently, Game 2 of the 2018 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. The annual July 4 Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular draws a live audience of more than half a million, with millions more who watch on television or live webcast.
Born in Poughkeepsie, NY, he began his musical studies on piano at the age of 7, and holds degrees from Furman University and Carnegie Mellon University; Keith also holds honorary doctorates from the Boston Conservatory, Boston University, Northeastern University, Furman University, and Carnegie Mellon University, among others. He was the 2006 recipient of the Bob Hope Patriot Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and was a recipient of the 2017 Commonwealth Award, Massachusetts’ highest cultural honor.
Emily Gringorten
Pops Tours
Keith Lockhart has taken the Boston Pops on tour since 1995, with frequent visits to the West Coast, Midwest, and Florida, along with five trips to Japan and two visits to Korea. Though the Boston Pops had frequently visited New England and MidAtlantic cities for brief Holiday run-out concerts, it was Keith who took the Boston Pops on its first Holiday tour in 1995, visiting Oregon, California, Arizona and Colorado.
Recordings with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops
The first seven albums featuring Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops were recorded by RCA Victor. The record label also released an Encore album featuring hits of the RCA Victor years. In 2004, the BSO moved towards releasing Pops recordings on its own label, producing six full-length albums with Lockhart and the Boston Pops.
RCA Victor: 1996-2002
Runnin’ Wild: Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra Play Glenn Miller (1996) with the John Pizzarelli and The King’s Singers. BMG RCA Victor 09026-68598-2. Recorded May-June 1996.
American Visions (1997). BMG RCA Victor 09026-68786-2. Recorded November 1996.
The Celtic Album (1998) with Eileen Ivers, fiddle; Jerry O’Sullivan, uilleann pipes; Cherish The Ladies; Joanie Madden, low whistle; Gabriel O’Donohue, guitar. BMG RCA Victor 09026-68901-2. Recorded May 1997.
Holiday Pops (1998) with Tanglewood Festival Chorus; Mark Oswald, baritone; PALS Children’s Chorus. BMG Classics RCA Victor 09026 63252-2. Recorded December 1997.
A Splash of Pops (1999) with Tanglewood Festival Chorus; Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes and Drums. BMG Classics RCA Victor 09026-63516-2. Recorded May 1999.
The Latin Album (2000) with guest artists Mariachi Cobre and Inca Son. BMG Classics RCA Victor 09026-63717-2. Recorded June 2000.
Encore! Greatest hits from Runnin’ Wild, American Visions, The Celtic Album, Holiday Pops, and A Splash of Pops (2000). BMG Classics RCA Victor 09026-6362-2.
My Favorite Things: A Richard Rodgers Celebration (2002) with Jason Danieley, Martina McBride, Colin Raye. BMC Classics RCA Victor 09026-63835-2. Recorded June 2001.
BSO Classics/Pops Label: 2004-present
Sleigh Ride (2004) with Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Boston Pops Recordings, BP0002. Recorded September 2004.
America (2005) with Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Yolanda Adams, Arlo Guthrie, and David McCullough. Boston Pops Recordings, BP0003. Recorded May 1999 and April 2005.
Oscar & Tony: Award-Winning Music from the Stage & Screen (2007) with Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Boston Pops Recordings, BP0004. Recorded May 2007.
The Red Sox Album (2009) with Tanglewood Festival Orchestra and Gregg Edelman (narrator) and David Ortiz (bat). Boston Pops Recordings, BP0005. Recorded June 2008.
The Night Before Christmas Deluxe Book and DVD Edition (2011). Hardcover picture book, including DVD, with illustrations by Jan Brett. Penguin Young Readers Group. Recorded 2010
A Boston Pops Christmas: Live from Symphony Hall (2013) with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. BSO Classics: BSOCL1305. Recorded December 2011 and December 2012.
Lights, Camera … Music!, Six Decades of John Williams (2017). BSO Classics: BSOCL1704. Recorded May 2016 and April 2017.
Other releases
12 Days of Christmas (single track, digital release) (2009) with Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Boston Pops Recordings.
The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers (single track, digital release) (2010) with Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Cherry Jones, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Boston Pops Recordings. Recorded Spring 2010
Evening at Pops Special Guests: 1995-2004
Keith Lockhart conducted the Boston Pops through 39 Evening at Pops television specials from his debut as Boston Pops conductor in 1995 until the show’s conclusion in 2004. Often these performances were taped live during the Spring Pops season at Symphony Hall, and other times, the performances were special "TV sessions" filmed exclusively for GBH. Performance/filming dates are listed in italics after each guest artist.
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1995
![Guest soloist Mandy Patinkin sings into a vintage microphone while Keith Lockhart conducts in the background]()
Mandy Patinkin performs with Keith Lockhart on Evening at Pops on May 10, 1995. Photograph by Miro Vintoniv.
#1801 (debut of Keith Lockhart): soprano Sylvia McNair, actor and Broadway musical star Mandy Patinkin, trumpeter Doc Severinsen, and Boston Pops Laureate Conductor John Williams, May 10, 1995.
#1802: comedy duo Penn & Teller and pianist Helen Huang, May 15, 1995.
#1803, “A Tribute to the Music of George Gershwin”: Marcus Roberts; Jimmy Brennan & Karen Ziemba; John Pizzarelli Trio; vocalists Marquita Lister, Willard White and Damon Evans, May 22, 1995.
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1996
![Wearing casual pants and t-shirt, guest soloist Jason Alexander poses on one leg while the orchestra plays in the background]()
Jason Alexander rehearses at Symphony Hall, May 24, 1996. Photograph by Matthew Stone.
#1901: Patti Labelle, Edwin Hawkins and the Boston Community Gospel Choir, May 13, 1996.
#1902: Jason Alexander, May 25, 1996.
#1903: Nancy Griffith and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, May 14, 1996.
#1904: Denyce Graves, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and The Maria Benitez Teatro Flamenco, May 28, 1996.
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1997
![One musician with percussion instruments strapped to his torso faces the audience and raises two drum sticks while another musician bends away from him]()
Cast members from Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk perform with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops for Evening at Pops on May 19, 1997. Photograph by Michael Lutch for WGBH.
#2101 “Spirit of America”: Charles Osgood (May 19, 1997), Dawn Upshaw (May 19, 1997) and Boston Ballet (May 27, 1997).
#2102 “Rhythm Is My Business”: Flying Karamazov Brothers (May 12, 1997), Airto Moreira (May 20, 1996), and cast members from “Bring in ‘da Noise/Bring in ‘da Funk” (May 19, 1997).
#2103: k.d. Lang, Eileen Ivers from Riverdance, May 13, 1997.
#2104: Elaine Paige (May 12, 1997), Mark Morris Dance Group (May 27, 1997).
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1998
![A pair of dancers in a sweeping tango pose (legs outstretched) on Symphony Hall stage]()
Forever Tango performs with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops on Evening at Pops on May 18, 1998. Photograph by Michael Lutch for WGBH.
#2201: Sarah Jessica Parker (May 11, 1998) and Mavis in Las Vegas with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (May 19, 1997)
#2202: Mary Chapin Carpenter (May 19, 1998) and Michael Moschen (May 18, 1998)
#2204: Forever Tango with Leslie Caron (host), May 18, 1998.
#2205: Arlo Guthrie and Gil Shaham, May 26, 1998.
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1999
![Two male dances (in orange 1950s style jackets) and two female dancers in dresses dance with arms raised in a line across Symphony Hall stage]()
The Jivin' Lindy Hoppers perform with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops for Evening at Pops on June 1, 1999. Photograph by Michael Lutch for WGBH.
#2301 “Brush Up Your Shakespeare”: with Shakespeare and Company actors; Mara Bonde, soprano; Jason Danieley, tenor; Scott Flaherty, tenor; Greer Grimsley, bass-baritone; and Clare Bloom (host), May 22, 1999.
#2302 “Swingin’ at the Pops”: vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway, jazz dancers The Jivin’ Lindy Hoppers; a capella group Five O’Clock Shadow, June 1, 1999.
#2303: Nathan Lane (tribute to Danny Kaye), June 7, 1999.
#2304: Audra McDonald, June 2, 1999.
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2000
![Keith Lockhart holds a microphone and looks upwards at a very tall yellow Big Bird character from Sesame Street]()
Keith Lockhart talks to Big Bird during Evening at Pops, May 30, 2000. Photograph by Michael Lutch for WGBH.
#2401 “Aaron Copland Centennial Tribute”: Dawn Upshaw, Jubilant Sykes, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, May 22, 2000.
#2402: Alison Krauss and Union Station; Mariachi Cobre, May 26, 2000.
#2403: Diana Krall (May 25, 2000) and Michael Feinstein (May 22, 2000)
#2405: Sesame Street, May 30, 2000.
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2001
![Guest soloist Martin Short holds a microphone on stage while Keith Lockhart gestures towards him]()
Martin Short performs with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops during Evening at Pops, May 21, 2001. Photograph by Michael Lutch for WGBH.
#2502: Martin Short and a salute to Meredith Willson (with Craig Bierko and Rebecca Luker), May 21, 2001.
#2503, Born in Boston: Chick Corea, Terence Blanchard, Jane Monheit (tribute to Jimmy McHugh), May 25, 2001.
#2504: Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, and Mike Marshall, June 1, 2001.
#2505, Paul Winter’s World of Living Music: Paul Winter and the Earth Band, May 30, 2001.
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2002
![Three violinists stand on stage in front of Keith Lockhart conducting in the background]()
The "Fiddlers Three" at Evening at Pops on May 23, 2002: Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (classical violin), Eileen Ivers (folk fiddle) and Regina Carter (jazz violin). Photograph by Michael Lutch for WGBH.
#2601: Barbara Cook and New York Voices (tribute to New York City), May 20, 2002.
#2602 “Richard Rodgers Tribute, Part 1 – Rodgers and Hammerstein”: Audra McDonald, Lillias White, Douglas Sills, Rebecca Luker, Ron Raines, Mary Testa, with special appearance of Richard Rodgers' daughters Mary Rodgers and Linda Rodgers, May 13, 2002.
#2603 “Richard Rodgers Tribute, Part 2 – Rodgers and Hart”: Audra McDonald, Lillias White, Douglas Sills, Rebecca Luker, Ron Raines, Mary Testa, May 13, 2002.
#2605 “Fiddlers Three”: Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Regina Carter, and Eileen Ivers, May 23, 2002.
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2003
![Keith Lockhart stands in center clasping hands with Byron Stripling (holding trumpet) on left and Patti Austin on right]()
Byron Stripling, Keith Lockhart, and Patti Austin take a bow after Evening at Pops, May 19, 2003. Photograph by Michael Lutch for WGBH.
#2701 “Tribute to Jerry Herman”: with Marin Mazzie, Faith Prince, and John Barrowman, May 12, 2003.
#2702: Ricky Skaggs, May 22, 2003.
#2703 “All That Jazz”: Patti Austin (May 19, 2003), Byron Stripling (May 19, 2003), and Peter Cincotti (May 22, 2003).
#2704 “Boston Pops Classics”: Jean-Ives Thibaudet, Mark McVey, Grandma from Big Apple Circus (May 19, 2003).
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2004
![Kristin Chenoweth sings into a microphone while seated on a piano bench; behind her Keith Lockhart plays the piano]()
Kristin Chenoweth sings while Keith Lockhart accompanies her on the piano during an Evening at Pops on June 10, 2004.
#2801, Keith Lockhart 10th Anniversary Special: a compilation highlighting the best of Evening at Pops with Keith Lockhart.
#2802: Natalie MacMaster and Michael McDonald, May 29, 2004.
#2803: Vanessa Williams, June 7, 2004.
#2805: Kristin Chenoweth, June 10, 2004.
