Lockhart to be Commencement speaker

Keith Lockhart, the acclaimed conductor of the Boston Pops, will be the keynote speaker for Commencement on May 27.

Lockhart graduated from Furman in 1981 with degrees in music and German and has become a celebrity since he was named to succeed John Williams as conductor of the Boston Pops in 1995. In addition to his duties with the Pops, Lockhart is conductor of the Utah Symphony and frequently serves as a guest conductor for major symphonies and chamber orchestras in the United States and abroad.

A native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Lockhart entered Furman as a pre-law major but eventually switched to a double major in music and German. He studied in Vienna during his student days and graduated summa cum laude in 1981. He received his M.F.A. degree in conducting from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1983, where he eventually became a member of the music faculty and served as director of orchestral activities.

Prior to accepting his position with the Boston Pops, Lockhart served as conductor of the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra, assistant conductor of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and associate conductor of both the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops orchestras. He also conducted both orchestral and educational concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony and the Long Island Philharmonic.

In 1996, at Lockhart’s invitation, the Furman Singers performed at the Pops’ annual Fourth of July performance on the Charles River Esplanade. The performance attracted 200,000 people and was televised nationally on the Arts & Entertainment network

Lockhart is only the third conductor to lead the Boston Pops since 1930, following Williams and Arthur Fiedler.