Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular 2023

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 was at the helm of the orchestra for nearly fifty years. Keith Lockhart, who occupies the Julian and Eunice Cohen Boston Pops Conductor chair, has conducted more than 2,000 Boston Pops concerts and annual Boston Pops appearances at Tanglewood, as well as 45 national tours and 4 international tours to Japan and Korea. The annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular conducted by Mr. Lockhart 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. He has led eight albums on RCA Victor/BMG Classics; recent releases on Boston Pops Recordings include A Boston Pops Christmas–Live from Symphony Hall, The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers, and Lights, Camera… Music! Six Decades of John Williams. The list of nearly 300 guest artists with whom Keith Lockhart has collaborated represents performers from virtually every corner of the entertainment world. Having recently completed an eight- year tenure as principal conductor, he is now chief guest conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra in London; 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. He has appeared as a guest conductor with virtually every major symphonic ensemble in North America and many in Asia and Europe. Before 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. For more on Keith Lockhart, visit www.bso.org/keith-lockhart or bostonpops.org.

En Vogue has sold 20 million records worldwide and has won seven MTV Video Music Awards, three Soul Train Awards, two American Music Awards, and received seven Grammy nominations.En Vogue, current members Grammy-nominated Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis and Rhona Bennett are recognized as one of the top five highest selling American female music groups in history. Their effortless transition into the digital age, complemented by their effortless chic, has garnered the group over 30 million streams and 26 million-plus YouTube views on their Top 6 hit singles alone; smashes such as Hold On, Free Your Mind, Never Gonna Get It, Giving Him Something He Can Feel, Don’t Let Go, and Whatta Man (feat. Salt-N-Pepa).In 2021 the group made a cameo in the romantic comedy sequel “Coming to America 1” alongside Salt N Pepa. In 2022, En Vogue competed in the seventh season of The Masked Singer as the Queen Cobras. That same year the group embarked on the Mixtape Tour with New Kids on the Block, Salt-N-Pepa and Rick Astley.

Named “country music's iconic feel-good duo” by PEOPLE, Wheelhouse Records/BMG’s LOCASH – Preston Brust and Chris Lucas – is “hitting homers and serving up first-class songs,” as hailed by American Songwriter. With their loud-and-proud anthem “Three Favorite Colors” as their latest release, they recently delivered back-to-back high-profile collaborations with “Let It Slide” (Leslie Jordan, Blanco Brown, LOCASH) and “Beach Boys” (feat. The Beach Boys’ Mike Love and Bruce Johnston). LOCASH’s wild-and-free WOODS & WATER – EP (2021) marked the follow up to BROTHERS (2019), featuring GOLD #1 “One Big Country Song.” Known for PLATINUM breakout “I Love This Life” and their first #1 with GOLD “I Know Somebody,” they’ve earned eight charting singles, two successful albums, and over 815 MILLION global on-demand streams since 2015. Respected entertainers with prominent recognition, they hold a history of nods from the genre’s biggest awards shows including a Vocal Duo of the Year nomination at The 56th Annual CMA Awards. Last launching their extended headlining WOODS & WATER TOUR 2022, LOCASH is currently on the road with Kane Brown’s DRUNK OR DREAMING TOUR.

Possessing a powerful and versatile voice, Mandy Gonzalez most recently starred as Angelica Schuyler in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s mega-smash hit Hamilton and is best known for portraying Nina Rosario in the Tony Award-winning, Miranda Broadway musical In the Heights, a role she originally created Off Broadway at 37 Arts and received a Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble. She also starred on Broadway as Elphaba in Wicked, Princess Amneris in the Elton John/Tim Rice musical Aida, and multiple roles, including that of Beatles’ icon John Lennon, in Lennon.

Mandy received an OBIE Award and overwhelming critical praise for her performance in the Off-Broadway production of Eli’s Comin directed by Diane Paulus and based on the music and lyrics of renowned singer-songwriter Laura Nyro.

Mandy can be heard as the voice of Mei in Disney’s Mulan 2 and on recordings of the original Broadway cast album of In the Heights, Kerrigan-Lowdermilk Live and The Man Who Would Be King.

Mandy released her debut album, FEARLESS, with Warner Music, which debuted at #13 on the iTunes charts. Her album – hailed as “a genre-defying, highly-personal, daring, and brilliant debut” (Pop Bytes) – delivers new, original songs from some of the most accomplished writers in the music industry, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jennifer Nettles, Bill Sherman, and Tom Kitt. An accomplished author, Mandy recently published her successful Young Adult novel series, FEARLESS, published by Simon and Schuster.”

Alton Fitzgerald White, after completing a record-breaking 4,308 performances as King Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway, has added author and in-demand keynote speaker to his growing list of titles. His book and audiobook My Pride: Mastering The Challenge Of Daily Performance—an inspirational autobiography filled with secrets to finding fulfillment and joy in work and life published by Disney Editions—have been nominated for several major national book awards. Other Broadway starring roles include Mister in The Color Purple, Coalhouse Walker, Jr., in Ragtime, Ken in Smokey Joe’s Cafe, John in Miss Saigon, and The Hawker in The Who’s Tommy. He made his West End debut as Ken in Smokey Joe’s Cafe in London. In addition to theater, Alton has performed in live concerts all over the world, including engagements with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at London’s legendary Royal Albert Hall, the Boston and Cincinnati pops orchestras, and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and at such great venues as Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, the Tokyo International Forum, and Wolf Trap, to name a few. Some of those performances included music from his bestselling CD Disney My Way!, full of reimagined classics from Disney on Broadway.

In addition to his live-theater work, Alton has appeared on the big screen opposite Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Marcia Gay Harden and Oscar nominee Sam Elliott. He was also featured in The Pulitzer Prize- and Emmy Award-winning Rent Live on Fox television. Alton’s television resume includes guest-star roles on the hit TV series Law & Order, The Blacklist, The Good Fight, Law & Order: SVU, Madam Secretary, Elementary, Mindhunter, Code Black, and FBI, and a recurring role on Bull as Judge Tahani. He is featured in Dexter: New Blood (Showtime) and has featured roles in Let The Right One In (Showtime) and Dear Edward (Apple TV). He will also appear in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, due for release in late June 2023.

Outside of performing, Alton has written for several major magazines including a cover story for The Nation Magazine, “Ragtime My Time,” that detailed his experience with racial profiling. That story has since appeared in publications all over the world as well as in dozens of college textbooks where it is studied for its content and structure. Alton’s popular TEDx Talk “Redefining Service to Dream the Impossible Dream” can be found here.

Heralded as one of the “Breakout Stars of 2020” by the New York Times, Elizabeth Stanley received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations and a Grammy Award for her performance as Mary Jane Healy in the musical Jagged Little Pill, inspired by the music of Alanis Morissette, book by Diablo Cody, and directed by Diane Paulus.

Stanley has dazzled Broadway audiences as Claire De Loone in the revival of On the Town (Drama Desk nomination), Dyanne in Million Dollar Quartet, Allison in Cry-Baby, and April in the Tony Award-winning revival of Company. She appeared as Gussie in James Lapine’s production of Merrily We Roll Along at City Center Encores! (PS Classics cast recording), The Nurse in Hello Again (Transport Group, Drama League Award), Signature Theatre’s production of F**king A, and Of Thee I Sing (MasterVoices, Carnegie Hall). She starred as Francesca in the first national tour of Jason Robert Brown’s The Bridges of Madison County and as Kira in the first national tour of Xanadu. She recently appeared opposite Vanessa Williams and Santino Fontana in Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle in Concert at Carnegie Hall with MasterVoices.

On television, Elizabeth can be seen as Penny in the FX series Kindred and as Charlotte Byron in season 2 of Gossip Girl (HBO Max). Other appearances include The Equalizer, New Amsterdam, Younger, Blue Bloods, N0S482, FBI, The Get Down, The Affair, Black Box, Made in Jersey, Fringe, and PBS Great Performances—Company.

She has played leading roles on stages throughout the country including Sundance Theatre, Sacramento Music Circus, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Barrington Stage Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Pioneer Theatre Company, and Cincinnati Playhouse.

Elizabeth frequently performs in concert throughout the country, most recently with the Colorado Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and New York Pops.

She is a graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Andrea Jones-Sojola was recently seen in the Broadway hit The Music Man, starring Hugh Jackman. She played Strawberry Woman on Broadway in The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, starring Audra McDonald. Off-Broadway, she was seen in the critically acclaimed Carmen Jones. Other NYC highlights include Dear World, A Little Night Music, Brigadoon, Cabin in the Sky, The Most Happy Fella, Annie Get Your Gun, Parade, and Candide. She recently made her debut at the Muny as Sister Berthe in The Sound of Music and reprised the role at Virginia Opera. She won the “Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role” Award for Newton’s Cradle (New York Music Festival). This summer Andrea performs in Light in the Piazza (Encores!). Film and TV credits include For Colored Girls, Generation Lockdown, The Sound of Music Live! (NBC), Show Boat (PBS), Sweeney Todd, (PBS), Monsterland (Hulu), FBI (CBS), The Blacklist (NBC), Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon), and Fire Shut Up in My Bones (Metropolitan Opera/PBS). Andrea, originally from Louisville, KY, currently resides in Harlem with her family. When she is not on stage, she enjoys voice acting. She can be heard on several episodes of the podcast Strange and Unexplained.

The Concert Band and Soldiers’ Chorus are the oldest and largest of The U.S. Army Field Band’s performing components. Founded in 1946 and 1957 respectively, these two ensembles combine to present joint concerts on their national tours. They have performed in all 50 states and 30 foreign countries for audiences totaling hundreds of millions. The 60-member Concert Band and 24-member Soldiers’ Chorus offer unparalleled versatility of programming, ranging from orchestral masterworks and operatic arias to Sousa marches, jazz classics, and Broadway musicals. Their performances integrate high-definition multimedia presentations, inspiring audiences of all ages with patriotism and passion. In 2022, these ensembles were featured on the Grammy-award winning Soundtrack of the American Soldier, and multiple components of the Field Band were featured in the live performances and international broadcast of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

In addition to their national tours, interactive social media products, and educational outreach events, members of the Concert Band and Soldiers’ Chorus frequently represent the Army at formal and ceremonial functions, including Inaugural Parades, State funerals, Vietnam War commemorations, and diplomatic efforts overseas.

Romaine Bostick co-hosts Bloomberg Television’s “The Close” and “What’d You Miss?” from New York. Additionally, Bostick helps lead cross-asset financial market coverage across all Bloomberg News platforms. Prior to joining Bloomberg Television, Bostick helped foster and manage the Bloomberg terminal’s TOPLive blogging platform as a newsroom editor. With a background covering corporate finance, mortgage-backed securities, and government policy, Bostick orchestrated newsroom coverage of seminal events, including the 2002 Tyco CEO scandal, the dawn of credit-default swaps, the 2007-08 financial crisis, the 2012 Affordable Care Act implementation, and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Bostick also spearheaded a data-mining project on more than 45,000 companies globally to monitor anomalies in earnings and cash flow trends. Before joining Bloomberg, Bostick held various editing and reporting positions at Kiplinger, Washingtonpost.com, and the Daily Herald (Illinois).

Carol Massar is an award-winning business and financial journalist, who has anchored and reported around the globe interviewing leaders who are impacting business, financial markets, politics, society and culture. Carol joined Bloomberg in 1999, and currently co-hosts the daily broadcast and podcast, Bloomberg Businessweek. She began her broadcast career delivering business news over Columbia University’s radio waves.