Photo Credit: Bill Brett/Globe staff/file

“He looks like a cross between Ricky Nelson and Richard Thomas in his John-Boy days, and he has a very pleasant way of chatting up the audience.”

That’s how Boston Globe classical music critic Richard Dyer, in his May 19, 1994, review of a Boston Pops concert, described the youthful, neatly coiffed visiting conductor who was in charge that night. The 34-year-old Keith Lockhart, then the associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony and the Cincinnati Pops, was the favorite to replace the legendary John Williams, and sure enough the Boston Pops baton was passed a few months later.

History Repeating - Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart at the Opening Night of the Boston Pops 2013 Season Wednesday night (Photo Credit: Stu Rosner)

These two photos are as much a testament to Lockhart’s good genes — that 53-year-old face in the photo from the Pops’ May 8 season-opening concert could easily pass for 10 years younger — as to his good standing in the community. Just as Williams became synonymous with the Pops and Seiji Ozawa with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, it’s difficult now to imagine anybody other than a tuxedo-clad Lockhart looking out at a relaxed Pops audience with his broad smile and tousled brown hair, and cracking wise with the latest celebrity musician to join him.

It hasn’t been smooth for all 19 years. There was his marriage to, and divorce from, BSO violinist Lucia Lin. And some critics complain he’s too much style and not enough musical substance.

But if you’ve been to a Pops concert and to a BSO performance, you know the difference. One is like the 18th hole at the Masters, where even a sneeze draws sneers, and the other is, well, the Pops. There’s chatter among audience members, shuffling feet, and banter from the stage. The music matters, of course, but Lockhart is most in his element when the audience is boisterous, and when the musicians are not simply playing for him, but playing along with him.

It’s why the Fourth of July concert on the Esplanade is so rousing. It’s one big party with the conductor as the host, doing what he does best: “Chatting up the audience,” as Dyer wrote nearly 20 years ago.

Would you want it any other way?

Read more: http://www.wickedlocal.com/watertown/photos/x372820542/Fun-at-Fantasia-Boston-Pops-host-Watertown-residents#ixzz2VBed2CZF

Keith Lockhart was just 35 in 1995 when he landed one of the most celebrated jobs in classical music: conductor of the Boston Pops orchestra. Since then, he’s conducted more than 1,500 Pops concerts, recorded 12 albums, and accrued 2 Grammy nominations. And that’s just his full-time job.

Since 2007, Lockhart has been artistic advisor and principal conductor of theBrevard Music Center and Festival in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, one of the country’s leading institutions for gifted young musicians. He’s also principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, based in London, and he can be heard each weekday on WGBH 99.5 FM, where he shares stories about composers and performers in the series Keith’s Classical Corner.

As head of the Pops, Lockhart (Hon.’04) has shown a talent for performing both classical and popular repertoire. He’s as much at ease leading the orchestra in Broadway show tunes and popular standards as he is in performing Beethoven, Ravel, and Mozart.

He’s become one of the nation’s leading ambassadors of music, as well as one of the most recognizable, thanks largely to his annual televised Fourth of July concerts on the Boston Esplanade and at such popular venues as the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the Super Bowl in New Orleans in 2002, and last year’s Diamond Jubilee concert in London for Queen Elizabeth.

The still boyish-looking Lockhart has also gained plaudits for championing the music of young composers and performers. Ben Folds, My Morning Jacket, Aimee Mann, and Amanda Palmer have all appeared with the Pops under his baton.

Lockhart recently donated his papers to the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center (HGARC) at Boston University, which houses more than 2,000 historical, literary, and contemporary collections, among them the papers of legendary Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler (Hon.’51), who helmed the orchestra for 50 years. As part of HGARC’s Friends Speakers Series, Lockhart will be on campus tonight to talk about his career. The event, free to BU students with a valid ID ($25 for the general public) will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the George Sherman Union Metcalf Ballroom.

“I pursued Keith Lockhart for his archive because he is an internationally renowned maestro,” says HGARC director Vita Paladino (MET’79, SSW’93). “Keith’s contribution to the Boston Pops has been very important to its evolution, and his work with the BBC orchestra and his other conducting duties make him an international figure in contemporary orchestral music.”

Among the 29 cartons of memorabilia Lockhart has donated so far (some of which will be on display at tonight’s event) are an undated letter from New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady thanking Lockhart for a gift of Pops Christmas CDs, a note from actor and banjo player Steve Martin following Martin’s appearance with the orchestra last spring, and a photo of the conductor throwing out the first pitch at a 2009 Red Sox game.

Lockhart, who is about to launch his 19th season with the Pops (Megan Hilty of NBC’s Smash and Matthew Morrison, the star of Glee, are among the guests who will be performing with the orchestra), spoke with BU Today about his career, the challenges of getting young audiences to listen to symphony orchestras, and his advice for aspiring musicians.

BU Today: You took up piano at age seven. At what point did you know you wanted to be a conductor?

Lockhart: I conducted various things while still in high school, but it wasn’t until late in my undergraduate time, finishing degrees in piano performance and German at Furman University, that, responding to a teacher’s challenge, I began to consider conducting as a possible career.

How would you describe the mission of the Boston Pops, and what do you envision for the orchestra?

We are the orchestra for people who don’t know they like orchestras. Our mission is to perform the widest possible repertoire for the widest possible audience. We think of ourselves as the ultimate outreach tool of the orchestral music industry. My illustrious predecessor Arthur Fiedler once said, “We only play one kind of music at the Boston Pops…the interesting kind.” We like to think that’s still true.

When I first came to Boston as a relatively young 35-year-old conductor, I met people my age who said, ‘We’re so glad you’re here; my parents love the Pops!’ It struck me that we needed to continue to address new audiences, and that simple reverence for a now 128-year-old institution wasn’t enough. The Pops have the power to be a potent force in connecting millions of people with the glories of great music, one of the greatest treasures our culture has produced.

Speaking of Fiedler, how have musical tastes changed from the era when he conducted the Pops to today?

The “popular music” performed by Arthur Fiedler in the ’40s and ’50s consisted mostly of lushly orchestrated Broadway musicals and Nelson Riddle arrangements for Frank Sinatra tunes. With the advent of electronica—from Chuck Berry and the Beatles to the present day—the job of translation to our sound world has become much harder. Our response has been to focus on music that we can wear easily and well—world music, for instance—and the music of acoustically oriented indie-rock bands and singer-songwriters.

As Pops conductor, you have to straddle the worlds of classical music and popular music. How do you do that?

Two things come to mind: one, that we always try to ensure that the Boston Pops is the star of its own show, no matter how big a star we’re appearing with. Second, I try to think about the type of audience who will be attending and make sure that everyone in the room leaves thinking that there’s at least one piece on the program that we put there just for them.

“Attracting younger audiences is about planting a seed that will develop later, maybe much later, down the line," Lockhart says. Photo by Michael J. Lutch

Much has been made of the shrinking audience for live classical music—how much does that concern you and how are you addressing it?

In 1911, I believe, the music critic Philip Hale wrote an article in a Boston newspaper where he decried the graying of the classical audience and said that if the trend wasn’t reversed, there would be no audience by 1925. The rumors of our death have always been overexaggerated. That having been said, we live in an age of previously unparalleled change in the way we interact with each other and our culture. The internet age has created a “separate pod” mentality that is antithetical to what we try to create as artists. We have to sell the value of joining your fellow humans in the process of art being made. If we can’t sell that, and lose out to virtual reality, then we and our world stand to suffer greatly.

Attracting younger audiences is about planting a seed that will develop later, maybe much later, down the line. People who come to hear us with Amanda Palmer are not likely to show up the next week for a Leroy Anderson tribute, but it’s about making the point that the orchestra exists for people across all age brackets and musical tastes.

Besides the Pops, you conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra and are Brevard Music Center artistic advisor and principal conductor. How do you manage all that?

Those aren’t the tough parts. You should have asked me how I balance all that with having nine-year-old, three-year-old, and one-year-old sons. My life is very full, but very satisfying. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

You attended Furman and Carnegie Mellon Universities. Why did you decide to give your collection to the Gotlieb Center?

BU has such a fantastic archival collection, really unrivaled. Besides, although I have a great deal of affection for my alma mater, my life and career will always be viewed as Boston-centric, so it makes sense that the reference materials are here. I’m honored to share the same space with Arthur Fiedler, who really made this all possible. Talk about standing on the shoulders of giants.

What advice do you give to young people aspiring to a conducting career?

My first advice would be, don’t. After that, I would tell them what one of my teachers told me at Aspen in the summer of 1980, when I was just making the decision to go forward with this crazy idea that I could conduct for a living. He said, “This is a really difficult and unforgiving profession, but I can guarantee you that every one in this room [there were probably 15 of us] will have one, and probably only one, moment of opportunity. Be absolutely sure that you are prepared for that one moment. Chances are you won’t get a second one.” Still true.

Keith Lockhart speaks tonight, Wednesday, April 3, at 6 p.m. in the Metcalf Ballroom, George Sherman Union, 775 Commonwealth Ave., as part of the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center’s Friends Speaker Series. A cocktail reception precedes the event at 5:30 p.m. and follows the talk. Tickets are free for BU students and Friends of the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center (membership card required for admittance) and $25 for the general public. RSVP by calling 617-353-3697.

Tuesday night’s sold-out Peace Center concert confirmed that fact as Lockhart, one of Furman University’s favorite grads, returned to town with the Boston Pops for a sparking concert of Broadway music and classical works.

“I’m so thrilled to be coming home,” said Lockhart, noting that he was appearing at the Peace Center for the first time — although he’s conducted orchestras in the past at Furman and the Bi-Lo Center.

Lockhart paid tribute to his alma mater by inviting the Furman Symphony Orchestra to join the Boston Pops in the performance for a blazing account of Tchaikovsky’s “1812” Overture.

The concert was a variety show of the most entertaining sort, featuring the terrific singer Ann Hampton Callaway.

Backed by the Pops, Callaway presented a dynamic tribute to Barbra Streisand. She offered a meltingly lyrical “The Way We Were,” then turned around and delivered a sassy and powerful “Don’t Rain on My Parade” (from “Funny Girl”).

Callaway sang her own poignant humanitarian anthem “At the Same Time,” which Streisand has recorded, and brought an opulent sound and ardent intensity to Jule Styne’s “People” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Being Alive.”

Closing her set, Callaway soared in the exhilarating “A Piece of Sky” from the Streisand film “Yentl.”

Lockhart and the Pops opened the concert with some spirited arrangements of film and Broadway show tunes. All of the Pops musicians are world-class, of course, but what struck a listener most of all was the warm, polished sound that Lockhart drew from the orchestra’s strings in the Overtures to Styne’s “Gypsy” and Marvin Hamlisch’s “A Chorus Line.”

A sumptuous rendition of Hamlisch’s “Through the Eyes of Love” (from the film “Ice Castles”) was followed by a deliciously boisterous arrangement of show tunes by Leonard Bernstein.

In the second half of the program, Lockhart led the Furman Symphony in a well-shaped and vigorous account of Sibelius’ “Finlandia.”

The concert concluded with the rousing “1812,” with the combined 140-member Furman Symphony and Boston Pops producing some glorious sounds. Five Furman student bass drummers at the front of the orchestra supplied the work’s famous cannon bursts. Lockhart gave credit to Furman Symphony conductor Thomas Joiner for the student orchestra’s preparation for the concert.

A standing ovation resulted in an encore: John Philip Sousa’s lively “Stars and Stripes Forever,” with a huge American flag dropping and hanging above the orchestra to cap the familiar finale as the audience clapped to the beat.

Lockhart and the Pops know how to put on a crowd-pleaser. Here’s hoping they return soon.

Heading into “The Streisand Songbook” last night at the Mahaffey with the Boston Pops and Ann Hampton Callaway, I was admittedly more excited about the singer than the orchestra. I’m a longtime fan of Callaway, and had enjoyed talking with her in a phone interview before the show. So when I looked at the playbill and saw that she wouldn’t be coming on till after intermission, I was a little dismayed.

Shouldn’t have been. Turns out hearing a full-on orchestra dig into Broadway overtures and, gasp, Marvin Hamlisch, was a hell of a lot of fun — and an experience you don’t get when you see a show on Broadway or at the Straz, where the orchestra is often out of sight in the pit, not front and center in all its glory. Suave young Pops conductor Keith Lockhart led the white dinner-jacketed ensemble with grace and even a bit of nimble soft-shoe, leading his musicians through the urban bedlam of a Bernstein suite fromWonderful Town and West Side Story; the sly lilt of Jule Styne’s overture to Gypsy; and the irresistible hooks in Hamlisch’s Chorus Line overture, including the unmistakable opening piano chords of “One.”

The ostensible connecting thread between these selections was that they all bore some connection to Streisand. That thread got stretched pretty thin at times: the theme fromIce Castles? Turns out that’s another one by Hamlisch, a great pal of Streisand’s. AndHello, Dolly? OK, right — as Lockhart reminded us, Streisand played Dolly in the flop film version of the Jerry Herman musical. The orchestra’s rendition of the all-too-familiar song was my least favorite number in the program — you need a Carol Channing or a Louis Armstrong as the astringent to Herman’s sugary melodics, and the Pops version bore dangerously close to elevator music.

At first, I worried that Ann Hampton Callaway, armored in a Kate Smith-y blue gown and Michelle Obama bangs, was going to do her segment in full emcee mode; the intro was a little too rah-rah, kind of like a PBS pledge break (“if you love Streisand as we do …”). But once she settled in, all doubts faded.

She’d told me during our interview that one of the lessons she’d learned from working with Streisand (Callaway has composed songs for her and helped write patter for one of her rare live concerts) is how to be a “singing actress.” Her rendition of “The Way We Were” was an excellent example. Far from being an imitation of Streisand, her version was thoughtful, almost meditative. In the lyric “Memories can be beautiful, and yet …” she lingers on the “and yet” — suggesting more vividly than the song usually does that the pleasures of nostalgia can only take you so far.

Callaway’s astonishing range — from dark caramel tones to crystalline high notes — was in full force in numbers like “At the Same Time,” a passionate plea for empathy that she wrote with Streisand in mind (and 10 years to the day she wrote it, she told the audience, Streisand did indeed record it). “When I stand up there and get ready to deliver these lyrics that I wrote,” she told me during our interview, “I feel like l’m listening to the universe.” That might sound a bit lofty, but in performance that’s exactly the feeling she conveyed — as if she were trying to embrace us all.

Streisand’s Oscar-winning “Evergreen” got a surprisingly swingin’ re-arrangement. Another smart choice: following the ethereal “On a Clear Day” with “Happy Days Are Here Again,” two divergent takes on the prospect of clear skies ahead. But it was another pairing that was the emotional high point of the evening: “People,” the song Streisand first made famous in Funny Girl, followed by “Being Alive” from Sondheim’s Company.

Calloway had told me an interesting anecdote: Streisand was at first uncomfortable with the lyric “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” She told composer Jule Styne that she thought people who don’t need people are the luckiest people. But Callaway thinks that Streisand’s feelings have evolved since then, as have her own.

“I have tried to be as open and loving as I can, but certain parts of me unknowingly have been closed.” So “People,” for her is about “the moment of self-revelation when you realize what’s missing in your life — when you’re ready to ask for things that are maybe messy and you’re ready to embrace it all, the gorgeous and the ugly. It takes a tremendous amount of courage for any human to do that.” Paired with Sondheim’s wrenching plea for human connection, the medley is “a little two-act play about people becoming alive.”

Sound like a lot for a couple of pop songs to contain? Well, I would wager that everyone in the audience was right there with her for every moment of that little two-act play, a reimagining of two very well-known songs that shed new light on both.

“‘People’ — it is her song, period. No one has come close,” she told me. “I wasn’t about to try to do something better. I wanted to do something true.”

That she did.

boston.com

By Vince Moore

Greenville loves conductor Keith Lockhart. Tuesday night’s sold-out Peace Center concert confirmed that fact as Lockhart, one of Furman’s favorite grads, returned to town with the Boston Pops for a sparking concert of Broadway music and classical works. Lockhart paid tribute to his alma mater by inviting the Furman Symphony Orchestra to join the Boston Pops in the performance for a blazing account of Tchaikovsky’s “1812” Overture. He also led the Furman Symphony in what The Greenville News called a “well-shaped and vigorous account” of Sibelius’ “Finlandia.”

Read Greenville News review by Paul Hyde

Watch WSPA SceneOn7 video

Here at CNU, we are fortunate to have the amazing Ferguson Center of the Arts offering spectacular performances every season. This season is no exception, and one of the most recent performances held was definitely one of the best. The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra with Ann Hampton Callaway and Keith Lockhart, performing the Streisand Songbook, was a night filled with great music and entertainment, leaving the audience anything but disappointed.

The Boston Pops, stemming from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1885 and is known for its classical and pop musical performances. The orchestra is most known for its performances on the Fourth of July in Washington, D.C. Touring throughout the country with more than 250 performances every year, the Boston Pops is nothing if not extraordinary with its strength of musical talent. In front of every good orchestra, stands the conductor, enthusiastically guiding the musicians throughout the performance. For the Boston Pops, their conductor is the incomparable Lockhart, who describes his job as “making sure that there aren’t any mishaps.”

Born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Lockhart has been fascinated with music from a very early age, beginning piano lessons at seven years old. He earned degrees from Furman University and Carnegie Mellon University, as well as honorary doctorates from several other American universities. After working as an associate conductor for orchestras in the midwest, Lockhart became the 20th conductor for the Boston Pops in 1995. With his 18-year tenure of the Boston Pops, he has conducted more than 1,500 concerts and 33 national tours. In August 2010, Lockhart’s career as a conductor expanded even further when he was named seventh principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, which plays concerts regularly on BBC television and radio channels.

Lockhart has had many shows throughout his life, but his very first Fourth of July extravaganza in Washington, D.C. with the Boston Pops, is one of his favorite experiences. Not far behind is when he conducted the Boston Pops at the pre-game show of Super Bowl XXXVI  in New Orleans, marking the first time an orchestra was featured in performance during a Super Bowl. For Lockhart, the best part of what he does is being able to reach and connect with audiences everywhere, from “truck drivers to Ph.Ds.” With the hope of reaching everyone with music, Lockhart doesn’t really have a favorite genre of music, but he does have a special place in his heart for classical music. Lockhart’s greatest inspiration is musical legend Leonard Bernstein, as Bernstein was able to do what every musician aims to do, communicate with audiences through music. The fame that Lockhart has enjoyed for almost two decades has been a shocking, humbling and sometimes overwhelming experience for him; an experience that he wouldn’t change for anything.

This year’s tour for the Boston Pops and Lockhart featured jazz singer Ann Hampton Callaway singing the songs of  the legendary Barbra Streisand.  Callaway is a singer and songwriter, with several of her songs having been recorded by Streisand herself. Callaway has gone on many tours and has made many solo appearances throughout her career, however she is also known for her duet work with sister Liz. Most people might know Callaway’s voice from the theme song on the 90s sitcom, “The Nanny.” This particular tour for Callaway and the Boston Pops came from an idea Callaway had, in doing a tour honoring Streisand and her decades of musical contributions.  When Lockhart and the orchestra were approached by Callaway for this, they thought it’d be a great idea, seeing as how they could honor Marvin Hamlisch, who happened to be great friends with Barbra Streisand. For this tour, everything seemed to just fall into place.

The night began with Lockhart leading the Boston Pops through many classics, including the overtures to “Gypsy” and “A Chorus Line,” the title song from “Hello Dolly!” and “Through the Eyes of Love” from “Ice Castles.” While wanting to perform the classics, Lockhart also wanted to pay tribute to the late Hamlisch, who is responsible for so many of the songs we hear today, and who passed away before his time in August 2012. Ending the first half of the concert with Kander and Ebb’s “New York, New York,” Lockhart and the orchestra gave an extraordinary performance, leaving the audience stunned, smiling and speechless.

After the 15-minute intermission ended, Callaway made her grand entrance onto the stage. While she was giving a musical performance and honoring a legend, she was wearing too much makeup, too much jewelry and her dress was anything but flattering. But maybe that’s just the girl in me. The Barbra Streisand lover in me enjoyed every moment of Ann’s voice covering the legendary songs. “Evergreen,” “The Way We Were” and “A Piece of Sky,” from the film “Yentl” made famous by Streisand, were just a number of tunes that touched my heart by Callaway’s crooning voice. I was hesitant to hear her sing these songs, as very few can even come close to Streisand’s caliber. However, Callaway soon proved me wrong. With Lockhart leading the orchestra behind her, Callaway belted these songs like only Streisand can and stunned the audience with her vocal ability. Some of her gestures seemed to be a bit overdone and over dramatic, but she can have a pass since this is the divine Streisand we are honoring.

The performances of the evening seemed to go off without a hitch, which was surprising as this was the opening night of the tour and they had only been able to rehearse in the space two hours prior. Having spent most of my life exposed to the Boston Pops, I was excited to see them perform live, and I was not disappointed. The night was filled with wonderful music and memorable performances by all. Ending a show with three standing ovations, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra with Ann Hampton Callaway and Keith Lockhart was a joyful experience I won’t forget.

Flagpole: Tell me about the Boston Pops and your role in it.

Keith Lockhart: Well, the Boston Pops is, well let me see now, a 120-year-old institution that was founded by the founding fathers and mothers of the Boston Symphony Orchestra to play a wider variety of music than the traditional symphony orchestra, for a wider variety of audiences than a traditional symphony. We’ve been doing that for a century and a quarter now, 50 years of which was under the direction of the famous Arthur Fielder, then my immediate predecessor John Williams, the composer of Star Wars and other unsuccessful movies like that. I have been conductor of the Boston Pops for 18 years, bringing great symphonic music of all sorts all around the country and to Asia, on record and on TV.

FP: When you choose selections for a performance, what do you consider? What is that process like?

KL: Well, it has to do something with what audience we’re reaching for, where we’re going. This tour is going to the Southeast and a lot of it is going to Florida. It also has to do with a sense of occasion. In this particular case: Barbra Streisand, who is one of the few voices you can truly say are more iconic than the songs they sing. People like her, and Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, are people who are so famous as singers that the songs that they sang are more associated with them than they are with the people who composed them. This is Barbra Streisand’s 70th birthday year, weirdly enough. We talked to Ms. Streisand herself and she said, “Boy, it would be wonderful if you guys would do a tribute concert to me.” So, this one kind of started from there and built in that direction, starting with Barbra, and then going with songwriters [and] composers who were associated with Barbra throughout her career. Then to Marvin Hamlisch, who died last year, but was for many years Barbra’s music director, and the great Broadway composer of things like A Chorus Line.

FP: Will you at some point perform with Barbra Streisand during your performances?

KL: No, Barbra Streisand is hardly performing now. If she were to come out on the road with the Boston Pops, she would require five months of rehearsal, which would probably be more than we could give her. So, we’re bringing Ann Hampton Callaway, who’s a wonderful American singer. She sings the Barbra Streisand songbook; she’s also a songwriter who has written songs for Barbra Streisand.

FP: What do you think audiences are looking for when they go to a Boston Pops  performance? What do they want to walk away with?

KL: I think what we would like them to walk away, with at any rate, is a sense of how exciting and involving an orchestral performance can be. We think of orchestral performances as being rather stuffy—classical, referential sort of affairs—and we don’t feel that way at the Boston Pops. We really feel that this music can be fun and entertaining and still provide some great cultural experiences so what we hope they end up with is “Wow. I never knew an orchestral concert could be that much fun.”

FP: You’ve performed concerts with musicians like Aimee Mann and Ben Folds. What do those collaborations do for the Boston Pops’ brand?

KL: You know, the danger of anything like the Boston Pops—which is less classical, therefore more tied in with whatever the trends of the day are—the danger with an organization like this is to kind of get stuck with the same trends and therefore grow old along with your audience. What we always have to keep doing is looking for ways to… well, to give you an example: when I came to the orchestra at 35, I had people who were my age come up to me and go, “Wow, the Boston Pops; it’s great! Wow, my parents really love going there.” I thought, “Well, thats fine, but in 25 years, that’s not going to be so good.” [We’re looking] to find ways to continue to keep having an audience that turns over and that recognizes that this is not a group that performs for 70-year-olds or a group that performs for 20-year-olds; it really does perform the gamut of experiences. What we’ve tried to do in the last few years [with] people like Ben Folds, also bands like My Morning Jacket and Guster, is to bring in totally new groups of people, even if they don’t become permanent fans at the age of 25 or 30. It sticks in their head that this is an organization that can be part of their cultural experience as well.

FP: Given the natural change in tastes and popular music, or what’s available, what about the Boston Pops does not change, or won’t change?

KL: I think what has kept us going and vital for a century and a quarter is the idea that it’s all about quality, and it’s about not just surrendering to the flavor of the month. It’s not going to be a Britney Spears kind of backup band anytime soon. [It’s] about collaborations and music with interesting and creative performers from all sides of the musical universe and from all generations. Ultimately, it’s always been about the orchestra being front and center in our own performances and not serving as a backup band, because then when people walk away from the concert, they walk away with the impression of the Boston Pops; not just an impression of who was fronting us.

FP: Can you tell me about the other conducting you do and how it compares to conducting the Boston Pops?

KL: Well, I have a fairly busy career that involved, up until a couple of years ago, I was music director of the Utah Symphony in Salt Lake City, which was a traditional American music directorship with, you know, Beethoven and Mozart and Brahms and Mahler, etc., etc. For the last three years now, I’ve been principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra in London, and I’m also the artistic director of a summer performance institute, the Brevard Music Festival in western North Carolina, not too far from Athens, for that matter. What those things do are they keep me growing and vital and energized as a musician, and they keep me doing the kinds of repertoire that keep my mind focused and keep me moving forward as a musician; things balance out very nicely. I just finished a two-and-a-half-week tour with the BBC group on the west coast of the States and came home, oh, about three days ago, and now I’m leaving tomorrow to go on this tour where you’ll see me in Athens on Wednesday.

FP: What do you think is unique about the Boston Pops in terms of its place in American music?

KL: I think one of the things that’s unique about it is it’s one of the few arts organizations in this country that really has a national constituency. We can go across the country and we can play in Phoenix or Las Vegas, and people come up and say, “I can’t believe it’s been five years since you’ve been here.” That’s a great thing to have because we’re called the Boston Pops, but we also call ourselves America’s Orchestra, because we really do have a fanbase that really goes all the way across the country, because of our association with the Fourth of July and other big celebrations where Americans come together.