Conductor Keith Lockhart throughout his career has combined pops and classics. As new conductor for the Boston Pops, he follows in Arthur Fiedler and John Williams' footsteps.
We caught up with Lockhart, who is making his Hawaii debut this weekend (see details in "Music" calendar at right), and asked him the tough questions:
Q: What's the pressure like conducting the Boston Pops?
A: Well, it's a very visible position, probably the most visible in the orchestral world in the media sense. People everywhere know about this orchestra. It was an opportunity that one cannot pass up.
Q: What are your plans for the Boston Pops?
A: I want to make it a force for the next millennium. One of the perceptions of the Boston Pops is that it is a safe middle-of-the-road educational entertainment alternative that's skewed a little toward an older crowd. I would like to change that a bit - not throw out the traditional support corps of the orchestra - but make it a much more inclusive vehicle so that people see it as the great populist orchestra with something in there for a lot of different demographics.
Q: Which do your prefer, pops or classical?
A: I prefer not being pinned down. I love the classics and I love the role of musician as entertainer. I like the fact that with the Pops I can reach millions of people and as I build up a trust relationship with them I can later take them by the hand and lead them a little deeper than they might have thought they were ever going to go in the world of serious music which is a loathsome term.
Q: Why do people become conductors?
A: Oh, genetic flaws I guess. Musical performance like anything else is finding a medium in which you can express what's inside you. You find something that gets the right response out of you and plays to your strengths. I never fancied myself as a conductor. My parents would say I was always the kid who liked to tell others what to do. I feel comfortable in this leadership role and helping produce this incredible sound.
Q: Tell us about your baton.
A: It's a thin birch dowel that was (made) in Pittsburgh. Batons are real cheap and that's a great thing about being a conductor: you don't pay much for your instrument. This last one cost about $15.
Honolulu Symphony: The Symphony performs with guest conductor Keith Lockhart and violinist Chee Yun 8 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. Program features Stravinsky's "Symphony in Three Movements" and Lalo's "Symphonie Espagnole." Tickets $10 to $50; $5 seats available. Call 545-4000.