The Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) has announced that composer Peter Boyer will be among the recipients of the 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor. The letter from the EIHS notifying 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 Saturday, May 11, 2019, at Ellis Island. This year's distinguished Medalists hail from a range of industries and backgrounds, from tech executives to members of local and U.S. government, to influencers in the entertainment and sports industry. The EIHS states, "Each 2019 Medalist has shown conviction and passion in ensuring that our nation's diversity is embraced."
Boyer joins the group of 2019 Medalists which includes Congressman Adam Schiff, recording artist Paula Abdul, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, former Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, The Coca-Cola Company Chairman Muhtar Kent, and Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment CEO Robert Nederlander, Jr. They, along with other accomplished Americans, will gather in Ellis Island's Great Hall, the original registry room which served as the gateway for 12 million immigrants to the U.S., for the annual Ellis Island Medals of Honor black-tie gala where they will receive and celebrate their award in the light of the Statue of Liberty.
Since the Ellis Island Medal of Honor was founded in 1986, it has been awarded to distinguished and diverse Americans, including seven 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.
Naxos has released the world premiere recording of Peter Boyer's Symphony No. 1. Featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Boyer's direction at historic Abbey Road Studios, the disc also includes his Silver Fanfare, Festivities, Celebration Overture and Three Olympians. The 24-minute, three-movement symphony is the centerpiece, containing music both powerfully rhythmic and deeply lyrical, with an unmistakably American identity. Boyer dedicated his symphony to the memory of Leonard Bernstein, with the acceptance of Bernstein's children. In a review of this LPO recording, Gramophone wrote: "Boyer, who claims more than 300 performances by more than 100 orchestras, writes in a fluent, powerful style that fuses conservative American currents with Hollywood-ish size and populist sentiment."
Release Peter Boyer's Ellis Island: The Dream of America celebration of the immigrant experience features performances by Hollywood stars Olympia Dukakis, Barry Bostwick, and Bebe Neuwirth. An ambitious work combining spoken word performances of actual Ellis Island immigrant stories with powerful orchestral music. Performed by London's renowned Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Boyer himself.
The acclaimed debut recording of GRAMMY nominated composer Peter Boyer with the world-renowned London Symphony Orchestra has been re-released by Propulsive Music. Featuring the works: Celebration Overture, Titanic, Three Olympians, The Phoenix, Ghosts of Troy, and New Beginnings, the album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and originally released by Koch in 2001. Now remastered with superior sonic quality, the recording has been reissued under Boyer's own Propulsive Music label. In its original release, the recording enjoyed widespread critical acclaim in print and at broadcast, and was produced by GRAMMY winner Michael Fine.