Keith Lockhart | |
|---|---|
 Lockhart in 2003 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Keith Alan Lockhart (1959-11-07)November 7, 1959 (age 66) Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Orchestra conductor |
| Years active | 1989–present |
Keith Alan Lockhart (born November 7, 1959) is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of theBoston Pops orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina.
Keith Lockhart, the conductor, is the brother ofPaul Lockhart, the military historian[1][2]—who is not to be confused with Paul Lockhart, the author ofA Mathematician's Lament, nor withPaul Lockhart, the NASA engineer/astronaut.
Born on November 7, 1959, inPoughkeepsie, New York, Lockhart is the elder of two children born to Newton Frederick and Marilyn Jean (Woodyard) Lockhart, who worked as computer professionals. He grew up in nearby Wappingers Falls and was educated in the public schools of New York's Dutchess County. He began studying piano at age seven. Lockhart graduated in 1981 fromFurman University with a double major in German and piano performance. After transitioning from piano, he then went on to get a master's degree in orchestral conducting fromCarnegie Mellon University.[3] Lockhart was initiated intoPhi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity in 1978 by the Gamma Eta chapter at Furman University.
Lockhart's conducting career began as the associate conductor of both theCincinnati Symphony andCincinnati Pops orchestras, as well as music director of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.
Lockhart was appointed conductor of the Boston Pops in 1995. He has conducted more than 1,900 Pops concerts, most of which have taken place during the orchestra's spring and holiday seasons in Boston's historicSymphony Hall. Lockhart has also led annual Boston Pops appearances atTanglewood, 43 national tours to more than 150 cities in 38 states, and four international tours toJapan andKorea.
He and the Pops have made 79 television shows for the long-running television showEvening at Pops and participated in such high-profile sporting events asSuper Bowl XXXVI, the 2008 NBA finals, the 2013Boston Red Sox Ring Ceremony, the Red Sox Opening Day game atFenway Park in 2009, and Game 2 of the2018 World Series at Fenway Park. The annualJuly 4th Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular draws a live audience of over half a million to theCharles River Esplanade and millions more who view it on television or live webcast.
Lockhart and the Boston Pops have recorded eight albums for theRCA Victor label, including two—The Celtic Album andThe Latin Album—that earnedGrammy nominations. Recent releases on Boston Pops Recordings includeThe Red Sox Album,A Boston Pops Christmas: Live from Symphony Hall, andThe Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers, which was a Boston Pops commission premiered in 2010 during the orchestra's 125th season. Released at the beginning of the 2017 Pops season,Lights, Camera … Music! Six Decades ofJohn Williams features Keith Lockhart leading the Boston Pops in a collection of Williams compositions from the 1960s onward, some of which can be considered rarities.
From 1998 to 2009, Lockhart was also the music director of theUtah Symphony where he conducted three “Salute to the Symphony” television specials broadcast, one of which received anEmmy award.[4] He conductedThe Star-Spangled Banner in the opening ceremonies of the2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
In 2010, Lockhart became the principal conductor of theBBC Concert Orchestra. He concluded his tenure at the end of December 2017, and took the title of chief guest conductor of the orchestra, effective from January 2018 until November 2019.[5] Lockhart is also theArtistic Director of theBrevard Music Center summer institute and festival, a program which he attended as an adolescent.[6]
Keith Lockhart has conducted nearly every major orchestra in North America as well as theRoyal Concertgebouw Orchestra, theDeutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, theNHK Symphony inTokyo and theMelbourne Symphony Orchestra. In October 2012, he made hisLondon Philharmonic debut inRoyal Albert Hall. In the opera pit, Maestro Lockhart has conducted productions with theAtlanta Opera,Washington Opera,Boston Lyric Opera, andUtah Opera. 2015–2016 included debut appearances with theCzech Philharmonic, theOrchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, theVienna Radio Symphony, and theHong Kong Philharmonic. He also completed a recording of the Bernstein Serenade with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and theLondon Symphony Orchestra.
Lockhart has been married three times. His first marriage was to his college sweetheart, Ann Louise Heatherington, after he graduated fromFurman University. The couple divorced two years later.[7] In 1996, Lockhart marriedBoston Symphony violinist Lucia Lin. The marriage produced one son, Aaron, born in 2003. The couple divorced in 2005.[8]
In 2007, Lockhart married his current wife, lawyer Emiley Zalesky. They have a child, Kellan.[9]
Lockhart received theBob Hope Patriot Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society in 2006 and was recipient of the 2017 Commonwealth Award, the highest cultural honor bestowed by the state ofMassachusetts.[10]
| Cultural offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Music Director,Boston Pops orchestra 1995–present | Succeeded by incumbent |
| Preceded by | Principal Conductor, BBC Concert Orchestra 2010–2017 | Succeeded by |
