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Boston Pops Celebrates 125 Years Of Music Making

Keith Lockhart, on screen at left, conducts the Boston Pops on the Esplanade on July 3, 2009 in Boston. (AP)
Keith Lockhart, on screen at left, conducts the Boston Pops on the Esplanade on July 3, 2009 in Boston. (AP)

The Boston Pops kicks off its 125th anniversary season Tuesday with a two-hour concert that will mash together the old and the new.

Before the show, actors dressed as orchestra founder Henry Lee Higginson and Pops patron Isabella Stewart Gardner will arrive in a horse-drawn carriage outside Symphony Hall.

Inside, the program will honor the legacies of past conductors Arthur Fiedler and John Williams.

But current Pops conductor Keith Lockhart says it's critical for the orchestra to convey that it's also looking ahead to the future.

"Hopefully people will have a sense that this is not just something we're celebrating as a historical thing but a living, breathing, organic institution that will continue on for another 125 years," he said.

To that end, the Pops joined forces with the video game industry for Tuesday night's world premiere of "The Beatles Rock Band Sing-Along." The audience will be able to join in on this interactive, fully-orchestrated collaboration with local gaming company Harmonix.

Later this week, the Pops also collaborates with the Grammy-winning, Los Angeles-based band Ozomatli. The urban group fuses hip hop, salsa, samba, funk and dance-hall.

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This program aired on May 4, 2010. The audio for this program is not available.

Headshot of Andrea Shea

Andrea Shea Correspondent, Arts & Culture
Andrea Shea is a correspondent for WBUR's arts & culture reporter.

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