There is an old Chinese proverb, “An army of a thousand is easy to find, but ah, how difficult to find a general.” The very qualities of a leader are embossed by his actions and his effectiveness by the loyalty of his followers. In a city whose foundation is seeded firmly in its historical roots, Keith Lockhart is the very definition of how the vines of the new become assimilated into the tree of tradition. Rather than surmount the looming shadow of the past leaders, Keith Lockhart has shown that leading a major symphony orchestra is not a matter of assuming power, but building a present bridge between the past and the future.
Lockhart and the Boston Pops
Keith Lockhart enters his 14th year as conductor of the Boston Pops, one of the world’s most distinguished collections of musicians. In leading the organization, Lockhart has honored the orchestra’s proud history while breaking new ground at this venerable American institution.
In recognition of his work, Lockhart was honored as an October 2006 recipient of the Bob Hope Patriot Award. This award is presented by the president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society to an individual who, through his or her work, encourages love of country, service to the people of the United States and support of America’s Armed Forces. This award recognizes the unique and lifelong service of Bob Hope to the United States Armed Forces and to the Nation through his unwavering patriotism and dedication to maintaining the morale of the troops he entertained for nearly six decades. Lockhart’s work on the Boston Pops’ annual July Fourth concert on Boston’s Esplanade, contributed to this recognition.
Lockhart was named the 20th conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra in February, 1995. In an establishment founded in 1885, he is only the third person to hold this post since 1930, following the legendary Arthur Fiedler and John Williams. Lockhart was a remarkably young 35 when he was named conductor, the same age as Fiedler at the time of his appointment.
In his role, Lockhart has conducted more than 1,000 concerts with 65 more adapted for television, including 38 new programs for PBS’ “Evening at Pops.” He has worked extensively on the Boston Pops’ annual July Fourth spectacular, which is televised across the nation for America’s enjoyment, as well as the Orchestra’s annual December holiday special.
The television efforts have been recognized as the 2002 July Fourth broadcast was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Classical Music/Dance Program and the 2002 broadcast of “Fiddlers Three,” telecast on Evening at Pops, won the 2002 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award in the Television Broadcast category.
Lockhart and the Pops have recorded 11 albums: Runnin’ Wild: The Boston Pops Play Glenn Miller (October, 1996), American Visions (June, 1997), The Celtic Album (February, 1998), Holiday Pops (September, 1998), A Splash of Pops (June, 1999), the compilation album Encore! (March, 2000), The Latin Album (September, 2000) and My Favorite Things – A Richard Rodgers Celebration (April, 2002), Sleigh Ride (November, 2004), America (June, 2005) and Oscar & Tony (August, 2007) to critical and popular acclaim.
The release of America featured special guests Yolanda Adams, Arlo Guthrie, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, with John Oliver conducting. The recording includes all-American favorites such as “God Bless America,” “The Stars and Stripes Forever!,” “This Land Is Your Land,” and a new Rob Mathes arrangement of “America the Beautiful” featuring Ms. Adams and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, plus Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture - a Boston Pops signature piece since Arthur Fielder’s tenure with the Orchestra. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough also joined the Orchestra as narrator on a musical rendition of The Gettysburg Address.
America was produced with the generous support of Liberty Mutual, who, with the sale of each CD, donates $1 to the Boston Arts Academy, a public high school for the visual and performing arts.
The Celtic Album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Classical Crossover category and The Latin Album received a nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards.
Lockhart has led the Pops on 30 national tours featuring stops at Carnegie Hall and four international tours, including visits to Japan and Korea. Under the conductor’s direction, the orchestra has dramatically broadened its touring activities performing to enthusiastic audiences in concert halls and sports arenas across the country.
In February 2002, the Pops partnered with the National Football League and played during the Super Bowl XXXVI pre-game show at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. This marked the first time an orchestra was featured in a Super Bowl. Two years later, he led the orchestra in its first concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall since the Fiedler era, featuring Broadway star Linda Eder as special guest. In September 2004, Lockhart and the Pops again worked with the NFL and appeared on a live, national broadcast with Sir Elton John as part of the league’s season kickoff special at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
As the Boston Pops continue to grow, the veteran conductor is dedicated to guiding and maintaining its prestige as one the greatest symphony orchestras in the world.
Lockhart and the Utah Symphony
Lockhart was appointed Music Director of the Utah Symphony in January 1998, a position that he added while maintaining his role with the Boston Pops. With the Utah Symphony, he has conducted three “Salute to the Symphony” television specials broadcast regionally on 4Utah/ABC, one of which received an Emmy Award.
In December 2001, Lockhart conducted the Symphony and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in a national PBS broadcast featuring the Vaughan Williams Christmas oratorio, "Hodie."
Lockhart also had the privilege of leading the Symphony in performances during the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, and in two additional programs for the 2002 Olympic Arts Festival, one featuring British stage star Elaine Paige and the other an American music concert with soprano Audra McDonald.
After the Olympic Arts Festival, Lockhart led the Orchestra on tour to Southern California in both classical and pops programs. In April, 2005 the Symphony conducted its first European tour in 19 years. That was followed by the release of the Symphony’s first recording, Symphonic Dances, in April, 2006.
Lockhart will conclude his tenure as Music Director in Utah with the 2008-2009 season, his eleventh season. He will then spend the next two seasons as Conductor Laureate, conducting several programs a year.
Lockhart and the Brevard Music Center
In June 2006, Lockhart was named Artistic Advisor of the summer institute and festival at Brevard Music Center. In October 2007, Lockhart succeded David Effron, who retired after an eleven-year tenure as artistic director and principal conductor. The Brevard Music Center (BMC) has established itself as one of this nation’s leading summer institutes and festivals. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, BMC welcomes to its 140-acre campus each year 400 students from around the United States and the globe. Sixty-five distinguished faculty artists drawn from the most prestigious conservatories, universities and orchestras in America, join these talented young people. In addition, the festival invites an array of celebrated guest artists who perform and present seminars and master classes. Lockhart will spend a minimum of two weeks at Brevard Music Center each summer, leading as many as four concerts.
Lockhart’s appointment solidifies an already special relationship with the Brevard Music Center. Having attended as a teenager for two summers (1974, 1975), first as a pianist and then as a student of bass clarinet on a teacher’s aide scholarship, he has remained connected and committed to the organization throughout the rise of an impressive career. Lockhart was first featured as guest conductor in 1996 and has since returned numerous times. He was appointed chair of a national board of advisors in 1997 and received the Music Center’s distinguished alumni award the following year. In 2000, Lockhart joined the board of trustees. Most recently, he led the Transylvania Symphony, the Music Center’s high school orchestra during a 2005 performance.
Watch Keith speak about the Brevard Music Center.
Lockhart’s Additional Work
Prior to his arrival in Boston, Lockhart served as music director of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra for seven years, completing his tenure in 1999. He also served as associate conductor of both the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops from 1990 to 1995.
As a guest conductor, Lockhart has worked with the major symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus (Ohio), Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Louis and Toronto. In addition he has performed with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the St. Paul, (Minn.) Chamber Orchestra and the New York Chamber Symphony.
Internationally, he worked with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester of Berlin on New Year’s Eve in December 2002 and the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam in June 2003. He has also had appearances with the symphony orchestras of Edmonton, Montreal, Singapore, Toronto, Vancouver, the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa and the New Japan Philharmonic and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Operatic credits include Puccini’s Tosca with the Boston Lyric Opera in 2004, The Ballad of Baby Doe with the Washington (D.C.) Opera, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and La Rondine for the Utah Symphony & Opera. He will return to the Boston Lyric in 2008 to conduct Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann, and will lead Mark Blitzstein's Reginain Utah in January of 2009.
Personal
Born on November 7, 1959, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Lockhart began his musical studies at age seven when he took piano lessons. He earned two degrees from Furman University in Greenville, SC 1981, B.Mus. in Piano Performance (Summa Cum Laude) and B.A. in German (Summa Cum Laude). He holds an M.F.A. in Orchestral Conducting from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA which he completed in 1983. He also holds honorary doctorates from Boston Conservatory, Boston University, Centre College in Danville, KY, Furman University and Northeastern University.
