FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMERICAN CONDUCTOR KEITH LOCKHART CALLED IN TO CONDUCT
QUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE CONCERT, TONIGHT, MONDAY, JUNE, 4
BOSTON POPS CONDUCTOR KEITH LOCKHART WILL BE JOINED BY
ALFIE BOE, LANG LANG, RENÉE FLEMING,
AND MORE TO CELEBRATE THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF
QUEEN ELIZABETH II’S ASCENSION TO THE THRONE
Boston Pops and BBC Concert Orchestra Conductor Keith Lockhart was called on Thursday to lead the BBC Concert Orchestra in the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, tonight, Monday, June 4, at 7:30 p.m. BST. In addition to his role as Boston Pops Conductor, Mr. Lockhart was named the Principal Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra in August 2010.
The Diamond Jubilee Concert is the culmination of four days of UK-wide celebration of the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne; these events will feature guest artists Elton John, Paul McCartney, Lang Lang, Stevie Wonder, Renée Fleming, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gary Barlow, Shirley Bassey, Alfie Boe, Jools Holland, Jessie J, JLS, Tom Jones, Annie Lennox, Madness, Cliff Richard, Ed Sheeran, Kylie Minogue, and Ruby Turner. The June 4 musical celebration will be attended by the Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, and members of the Royal Family. The concert will take place at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace and be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC One HD, BBC Radio 2 in the UK, as well as worldwide. Highlights from the concert will be available to United States viewers on ABC on Tuesday, June 5 at 9 p.m. ET. 10,000 free tickets to the event were distributed to the British public by a national ballot.
MORE ON KEITH LOCKHART
Keith Lockhart will return to the United States on June 5 to continue the Boston Pops spring season, which culminates at Symphony Hall in Boston on June 16. Maestro Lockhart will also lead the Boston Pops on the Charles River Esplanade with special guests Jennifer Hudson and Michael Chiklis at one of the country’s largest Fourth-of-July parties. This summer the Boston Pops conductor will also appear five times at Tanglewood, one of the world’s most beloved music festivals and the famed summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra located in the beautiful Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. Tanglewood celebrates its 75th anniversary season, June 22-September 2, with a spectacular lineup of musical guests and programs that spotlight Tanglewood’s rich tradition of presenting summertime concerts at their best since 1937. Details about the Tanglewood 75th Anniversary Season area available at tanglewood.org.
Keith Lockhart became the twentieth conductor of the Boston Pops in 1995, adding his artistic vision to the Pops tradition established by his predecessors John Williams and Arthur Fiedler. Mr. Lockhart holds the Eunice and Julian Cohen Boston Pops Conductor chair. He has worked with a wide array of established artists from virtually every corner of the entertainment world, while also promoting programs that focus on talented young musicians from the Tanglewood Music Center, Boston Conservatory, and Berklee College of Music. During his seventeen-year tenure, he has conducted more than 1,400 Boston Pops concerts and introduced the innovative JazzFest and EdgeFest series, featuring prominent jazz and indie artists performing with the Pops. Mr. Lockhart has also introduced concert performances of full-length Broadway shows, including Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel and Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, and the PopSearch and High School Sing-Off competitions. Under his leadership, the Boston Pops has commissioned several new works—including The Dream Lives On, a tribute to the Kennedy brothers, which was premiered in May 2010 during the 125th anniversary season—and dozens of new arrangements. For more information visit www.keithlockhart.com.