Super Conductor

Pops conductor Keith Lockhart's Boston secrets

Photo: Michael Lutch

ew things capture the uniqueness that is Boston like the Boston Pops, and Keith Lockhart is the youthful, good-looking face of the Pops before thousands at the holidays, millions in television performances, and hundreds of thousands during the annual Fourth of July concerts on the Esplanade. After starting piano lessons at seven, Lockhart went on to become conductor of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra before taking the baton in Boston from tough-to-follow predecessors John Williams and the legendary Arthur Fiedler. He’s introduced the JazzFest and EdgeFest series, in which the Pops performs with jazz and indie artists including Chick Corea, Dianne Reeves, Guster, My Morning Jacket, and Natalie Merchant, and released four albums, including The Red Sox Album. “The people who live here and make it their home are such a diverse group, who are supportive not only of sports teams, but of organizations like the Pops,” Lockhart tells us. “It isn’t possible to imagine a better environment.” Here are Keith Lockhart’s Boston secrets. Gullotti

I’m a foodie, so I have to pick more than one restaurant. Love Bin26 on Charles Street. Lineage in Brookline.
 

As for bars and lounges, we love the Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons. It’s extremely elegant. And the bar at Eastern Standard.
 

To relax, we like to go to World’s End, the nature preserve in Hingham.
 

My most memorable moment is the Fourth of July and having half a million people standing behind you. The second most , and more recent, was the birth of my son at the BI.
 

It’s easy to say the Esplanade is my favorite place to perform, but impossible to not say Symphony Hall. It’s the greatest space for performing and hearing music in the world.