Ellis Island

20 years after its premiere performance, Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America has established itself as an enduring tribute to the foundation of America and its multi-national roots. With text compiled by Boyer from the Ellis Island Oral History Project, Ellis Island is a 45 minute work for 7 actors and orchestra, with stunning visual projections that are used in conjunction with performances. The work has had over 250 performances by more than 100 orchestras throughout the country, has been recorded with the composer conducting, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006, and has featured some of our country’s greatest actors.

In 2017, the Pacific Symphony gave a unique performance, conducted by Carl St. Clair, that was broadcast on PBS’ Great Performances.

For further information about the work, please click here.

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The Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) has announced that Peter Boyer will be among the recipients of the 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, a highly prestigious annual award which is officially recognized by the United States Congress.

As described on the website of the EIHS: “The Ellis Island Medals of Honor are presented annually to a select group of individuals whose accomplishments in their field and inspired service to our nation are cause for celebration. The Medal has been officially recognized by both Houses of Congress as one of our nation’s most prestigious awards, and is annually memorialized in the Congressional Record.”

Since the Ellis Island Medal of Honor was founded in 1986, it has been awarded to distinguished and diverse Americans, including Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, as well as five additional Presidents of the United States. Past Medalists have included Vice President Joseph Biden, Senators John Glenn and John McCain, Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and William Rehnquist, Generals Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf, and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel.

Other notable Medalists have included Buzz Aldrin, Muhammad Ali, Hon. Hillary Clinton, Walter Cronkite, Joe DiMaggio, Kirk Douglas, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Eisner, Gloria Estefan, Renée Fleming, Lee Iaccoca, Quincy Jones, Rita Moreno, Arnold Palmer, Rosa Parks, Gregory Peck, Itzhak Perlman, Chita Rivera, Martin Scorcese, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Eli Wallach, and Barbara Walters, among many others.

The group of 2019 Medalists will include Paula Abdul, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, former Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, The Coca-Cola Company CEO Muhtar Kent, and former Morgan Stanley Chairman and CEO John J. Mack, among others.

The letter from the EIHS notifiying Boyer of his selection for the Medal of Honor specifically cited his work Ellis Island: The Dream of America, and its PBS Great Performances production with the Pacific Symphony.

The gala event will take place on May 11, 2019 at Ellis Island. More than 300 service members participate in an opening ceremony that includes a joint-service color guard representing all five branches of the military. The medals are presented during a black-tie dinner in the historic Great Hall.

Boyer stated: “I am truly overwhelmed to learn that I will be receiving the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. I’ve long been aware of the many distinguished Americans who have received this special recognition, and it’s touching to learn that I will join this group. I’m most grateful to Chairman Nasser Kazeminy and all the members of the Board of the Ellis Island Honors Society for their support of my work, which is deeply meaningful to me.”

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THIRTEEN’s Great Performances Presents the U.S. Broadcast Premiere of Peter Boyer’s “Ellis Island: The Dream of America” with Pacific Symphony Friday, June 29 on PBS in Honor of  Immigrant Heritage Month

Features dramatic performances by Barry Bostwick, Camryn Manheim, Michael Nouri and other guest stars

THIRTEEN’s Great Performances and Pacific Symphony, led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, pay tribute to America’s history with a performance of composer Peter Boyer‘s “Ellis Island: The Dream of America,” a Grammy-nominated contemporary classical work celebrating the historic American immigrant experience. Great Performances – Ellis Island: The Dream of America with Pacific Symphony premieres nationwide Friday, June 29 at 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) in honor of Immigrant Heritage Month. It will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/gperf and PBS apps.

Using texts from the Ellis Island Oral History Project and historic Ellis Island images in combination with an original orchestral score, “Ellis Island” features seven, first-hand stories of immigrants dramatically interpreted by guest stars Barry Bostwick, Camryn Manheim, Michael Nouri, Lesley Fera, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe, Samantha Sloyan and Kira Sternbach. Over 40 percent of the U.S. population can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island, and immigration remains at the forefront of global news. Great Performances – Ellis Island captures the emotions, elation and uncertainties of America’s epic immigrant experience.

The special was recorded by Great Performances at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in 2017 during Pacific Symphony’s 17^th American Composers Festival. Peter Boyer’s “Ellis Island: The Dream of America” premiered in 2002 to great acclaim. It has since received nearly 200 performances by more than 80 orchestras, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Contemporary Composition in 2005.

A co-production of Pacific Symphony and THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET in association with PBS SoCal, Great Performances – Ellis Island: The Dream of America with Pacific Symphony was directed for stage and television by Matthew Diamond and produced by John Walker; with Shawn Murphy as audio producer, production design by Matt Steinbrenner, lighting design by Bob Barnhart and projection design by Perry Freeze. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer.

Major funding for the program is provided by The Ellis Island Honors Society, The Hal and Jeanette Segerstrom Family Foundation, the Jewish Federation and Family Services of Orange County, Nasser and Yvonne Kazeminy, and Seth & Yasuko Siegel and Blossom Siegel.   Major funding for Great Performances is provided by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Irene Diamond Fund, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, The Agnes Varis Trust, The Starr Foundation, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, Ellen and James S. Marcus, The Abra Prentice Foundation and PBS.

Great Performances is produced by THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. Throughout its more than 40-year history on public television, Great Performances has provided viewers across the country with an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming.

“A work of rare authenticity and directness”

Los Angeles Times

“A sweeping opus…Boyer’s masterwork”

The Buffalo News

“A searing emotional experience”

The Hartford Courant

Interested in performing Ellis Island? Request a rental quote here.

You can purchase a score here.

Visit the Ellis Island page for more information.

Read VARIETY’s piece on Peter Boyer