Boston University Night at Pops
Lead Season Sponsor
Saturday, May 16, 8:00pm
KEITH LOCKHART conducting
Festival Overture on The Star-Spangled Banner
Buck
The Ringtone Cycle
• Out of Battery Park —
• No Reception at the Ball —
• Has Anyone Seen My Charger? —
• Return of the Seven Ringtones
Cumberland
Performed in honor of the 150th anniversary of the invention of the telephone by then-BU professor Alexander Graham Bell
Malambo, from Estancia
Ginastera
Fantasia for Saxophone, Three Horns, and Strings
Villa-Lobos
ANA DIAZ ASENCIO, soprano saxophone
El Salón México
Copland
INTERMISSION
It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)
Ellington—arr. Sebesky
All Blues Reimagined (for Miles)
Davis—arr./orch. Colón
Three Preludes
Gershwin—arr. Sebesky
The Patriotic Williams
Liberty Fanfare
Williams
With Malice Toward None, from Lincoln
Williams
THOMAS SIDERS, trumpet
Music from The Patriot
Williams
When can I take photos and videos? You are welcome (and encouraged!) to take photos and videos before and after the concert, and at intermission. Symphony Hall makes for a beautiful backdrop! Photos, videos, and audio recordings are strictly prohibited during the performance. At that time, be a great neighbor to your fellow concertgoers, put your phone or camera away, and enjoy the moment!
Guests are expected to drink responsibly. Intoxication will not be tolerated. Intervention with an impaired guest will be handled in a prompt and safe manner, which may include ejection from the premises.
Steve Colby, Sound Designer | Pamela Smith, Lighting Designer
The Boston Pops Orchestra may be heard on Boston Pops Recordings, RCA Victor, Sony Classical, and Philips Records.
Steinway & Sons Pianos, selected exclusively for Symphony Hall.
Special thanks to Fidelity Investments, Lead Season Sponsor, and Fairmont Copley Plaza, Official Hotel of the Boston Pops.
New arrangements and works for the Boston Pops are generously supported by the Cecile Higginson Murphy Pops Programming Fund.
Broadcasts of the Boston Pops are heard on 99.5 WCRB.
Programs and artists subject to change.
The BSO’s 2025-26 season is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
Board of Trustees | Board of Advisors | Staff and Administration
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Boston Pops
Led by conductor Keith Lockhart, the Boston Pops, known affectionately as “America’s Orchestra,” performs an exciting and eclectic mix of orchestral arrangements from a wide range of traditions including Broadway and the great American songbook, film music, classical, jazz, pop, country, folk, and, of course, holiday classics. The Pops was created in 1885 as the “light classical” summer season venture of the Boston Symphony. The Boston Pops Orchestra reached its current iconic status during the 50-year tenure of the legendary Arthur Fiedler, who was succeeded in 1980 by the equally renowned film composer John Williams. Keith Lockhart took the helm in 1995. It was Fiedler who started the tradition of Pops performances on the Charles River Esplanade, including the annual Fourth of July celebration, brought the Pops to television with Evening at Pops (1970-2004), and initiated Holiday Pops, which marked its 50th anniversary in 2023. Fiedler welcomed to our stages dynamic, world-class guest artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Julia Child, and Bob Hope. That tradition continues today with Keith Lockhart working with such stars as Brian Stokes Mitchell, The B-52s, Chaka Khan, Nick Jonas, and Rhiannon Giddens. With the Pops, Keith has made 81 television shows, led 45 national and 5 overseas tours, led the Pops at several high-profile sporting events including the Super Bowl, and recorded fourteen albums. Through it all the orchestra has remained of the most recorded, familiar, and beloved ensembles in the world today.
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Keith Lockhart
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 2,100 Boston Pops concerts and annual Boston Pops appearances at Tanglewood, as well as 45 national tours and 5 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.
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Ana Díaz Asencio
Ana Díaz Asencio (b. 1999, Sevilla, Spain) is a versatile saxophonist noted for her expressive musicianship and dedication to expanding the instrument’s literature. Shaped by musical life in both Europe and the United States, she embraces a broad and diverse repertoire that combines cornerstone works with contemporary pieces developed in close collaboration with living composers.
Díaz Asencio makes her Symphony Hall solo debut with the Boston Pops in May 2026. At age 25, appeared at Carnegie Hall with a program that showcased her Andalusian heritage. She has performed as soloist with the Manuel Castillo Symphony Orchestra, the Gerena Concert Band, the Clara Sonus Sax Ensemble, and the Charles River Wind Ensemble.
Her honors include first prizes at the Chamber Music Competition “José Gámez,” the London International Competition, the King’s Peak International Music Competition, and the BU Chamber Competition. In 2023 she received the Boston Woodwind Society Scholarship. Additionally, she served as a guest musician at the Tanglewood Music Center in 2025 and was a fellow of the New World Symphony Orchestra in 2026.
Díaz Asencio earned a bachelor’s degree from the Sevilla Conservatory and a master’s degree from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, graduating with honors. As of 2026, she is currently completing a doctorate at Boston University under Ken Radnofsky and serves as saxophone teaching assistant, and since 2026 she has been on the faculty of UMass Boston as associate applied saxophone lecturer.
Along with teaching and performing, Ana's eagerness for artistic development has led her to explore other roles within the music world, including conductor, researcher, and music administrator.
Boston Pops Major Corporate Sponsors, 2025-26 Season
The Boston Pops and Symphony Hall major corporate sponsorships reflect the increasing importance of alliance between business and the arts. The Boston Pops is honored to be associated with the following companies and gratefully acknowledges their partnership. For information regarding BSO, Boston Pops, and/or Tanglewood sponsorship opportunities, contact Joan Jolley, Director of Corporate Partnerships, at (617) 638-9279 or jjolley@bso.org.