Boston Pops Orchestra

The Boston Pops Orchestra is one of the world's leading orchestras that specialize in the performance of light classical music and orchestral arrangements of popular music. Founded in 1885, the Boston Pops Orchestra was created as a popular alternative to its more taste-restrictive counterpart, the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Arthur Fiedler, the orchestra's first official conductor, led the Pops for 50 years since he began in 1930--doing much to secure the orchestra's place as one of the United States' premier performance ensembles. Following Fiedler's death in 1979, film composer and conductor John Williams (of Star Wars and Indiana Jones fame) picked up the baton to direct the orchestra for the following 26 years. As of 1995, the Pops has been headed by conductor Keith Lockhart as the orchestra remains ready as ever to bring classical music and the orchestral experience to a wider audience than ever before.