Keith Lockhart Marks 30 Years at the Helm of Boston Pops—with More to Come

In Tuesday’s (4/29) New York Times, David Allen writes that every year, “The Boston Pops gets itself into … its annual Holiday Pops marathon, which takes up most of December at Symphony Hall. Last year, this orchestra played essentially the same program, with a few tweaks for family shows, 42 times in a bit less than three weeks…. The musicians of the Pops—essentially the Boston Symphony Orchestra without most of its principals… had enough ho, ho, ho in them to wear a seasonal hat or even dance onstage. Musical standards remained admirably high. At the center of it all is Keith Lockhart, who is marking 30 years with the Pops this season. Hosting and conducting almost all of the dates in December, he often led three a day, sometimes following a pair of gigs at Symphony Hall with an evening concert at the helm of the freelance Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, in places as far afield as New Hampshire or Connecticut…. He shows little sign of flagging…. The Boston Pops has spent 140 years figuring out how to offer popular entertainment that is artistically meaningful, with an orchestra of quality at its heart…. Lockhart … recently extended his contract through 2027 … Lockhart is … deeply rooted in his community … even its baseball team speaks highly of him”