Keith Lockhart

Lockhart Promises Something New, Something Old, Something Fun

n 2013, Blythe Danner’s guest conducting duties extended into reading excerpts about President John F. Kennedy. Just one year prior, Jim Belushi had taken the I conductor’s baton and added his own twist — actually, a standing back flip — to the job.

This summer, Dermot Mulroney will inject his own personality into the honorary post when he plays the cello.

For Maestro Keith Lockhart, the longtime conductor of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, it will mark a significant milestone in Pops by the Sea history. “It’s the first time in my memory, and possibly the first time ever, the Pops has had a musician as accomplished as Dermot who has brought something to the table musically,” says Lockhart.

Mulroney is slated to perform “The Swan” from Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals”, a piece that Lockhart describes as “perfect for a summer afternoon in Hyannis.”

Adding to the festiveness of this year’s Pops is a tribute to Leonard Bernstein, who would have turned 100 on August 25th. Cape Cod will join in on the global celebration, dubbed Leonard Bernstein at 100, with an ode to the iconic composer whose ties ran deep in Massachusetts.

“He was from Lawrence, educated at Boston Latin and Harvard and maintained a close relationship with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Tanglewood, where our teaching center is,” says Lockhart.

Bernstein’s debut with a professional orchestra occurred with the Boston Pops Orchestra in July 1941 . “There’s a good tie-in and we’re going to be playing some music from his most beloved works including ‘Candide’ and ‘West Side Story,” Lockhart says.

What made Bernstein truly special was “the multi-faceted nature of his genius,” says Lockhart. “He was not just a composer. If he had just done ‘West Side Story’ everyone would still know his name, but he also created significant works for the concert stage and he is also perhaps the foremost conductor as well as interpreter and creators of music. And he served to educate and inspire people about the importance of the arts in their lives.”

Fans of classic rock will be entertained by an arrangement of Led Zeppelin songs that are new to this year’s Pops.

And with guest performer Aubrey Logan bringing her unique mix of jazz, soul, and R&B, Lockhart promises Cape audiences that “we’ll hit every musical taste possible... You know we always try to do something fun for the crowd. Every year, it’s a great party down there on the Hyannis Village Green.”