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BACK TO THE beginning Hillary Scott National Arts Associate Keith Lockhart Leads the Boston Pops at the Tanglewood Music Festival. Lockhart, Pops Share Spotlight With Furman Students Written by Paul Hyde Greenville (SC) News A s a Furman University piano student 32 years ago, did SAI National Arts Associate Keith Lockhart have a feeling he would one day be an internationally renowned orchestral conductor? Not at all. He planned to be a lawyer. "I originally thought I'd get a music degree and then go to law school," Lockhart said in a phone interview with The Greenville [SC] News. "That went by the wayside because I dug down deep, understood myself better and realized I had a chance to conduct for a living. "It's fun to come back, especially to talk to students who may be asking the same questions I did," Lockhart said. Lockhart, a regular visitor to Greenville, took the legendary Boston Pops to Greenville, SC, for a concert that also included the Furman Symphony Orchestra. After intermission, the Furman Symphony performed Sibelius' "Finlandia" then joined the Boston Pops for a combined ensemble of 140 musicians to offer Tchaikovsky's rousing "1812" Overture. Lockhart and the Boston Pops were on a 10city Southeast tour, but Greenville was the only stop that will involved student musicians. Lockhart is not only including the Furman Symphony in the concert but brought 10 principal musicians from the Boston Pops to Furman to offer musical coaching and advice. "The idea was to make this a real collaborative experience," Lockhart said. "The music students will be able to ask questions of people who've made their living as musicians." "We've never done this before," added Lockhart, who's based in Boston. "It's a first, and I think it's a great idea for us to interact with the community we're serving." The unique collaboration has everything to do with Lockhart's continued close connection with Furman, from which he earned bachelor's degrees in piano performance and German. "I'm proud of my alma mater, and this is my way of giving something back," said Lockhart, who has led the Boston Pops since 1995. He was initiated as a National Arts Associate by Furman's Theta Lambda chapter in 2002. Thomas Joiner, conductor of the Furman Symphony, said Lockhart has frequently visited the campus in the past three decades. "Keith has been very generous with each generation of students that he's talked to here about his time at Furman and the importance of the liberal arts background that he received here," Joiner said. Sparking interest Ashley Marshall, a Furman Symphony trumpet player who participated in the concert, said the chance to perform with the Boston Pops has inspired the young musicians. "This opportunity has really made our playing jump to the next level," Marshall said. "We're trying to make it as professional as we can because we're going to be sitting next to professional players." She said the upcoming concert sparked interest across the Furman campus. "Everybody is talking about it at Furman," Marshall said. "It's really good for the Furman This article first appeared on February 26., 2013 in The Greenville (SC) News. 16 PAN PIPESSPRING 2013 sai-national.org

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