Peter
Boyer is a name you’ve probably heard. A contemporary American composer,
Boyer’s works are frequently performed by major orchestras across the globe,
and often heard on classical radio stations, including WGUC! It’s likely you’ve
heard his “Silver Fanfare” on 90.9 – this popular work comes from Boyer’s
larger piece On Music’s Wings that he
wrote for the Pacific Symphony. The “Silver Fanfare” movement can stand alone,
and was later chosen to open the 2015 and 2016 Hollywood Bowl.
Boyer
began work as a composer at the young age of 15. His first major work was a
Requiem Mass written in memory of his grandma. Since then, he’s studied with
many renowned composers including John Corigliano and Elmer Bernstein. It
certainly makes sense that he spent time under learning from Bernstein since
Boyer is also now quite active in the film and TV music industry. He has
contributed orchestrations for about 30 Hollywood films including work done for
Michael Giacchino, Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard, James Horner, Alan
Menken, and more. In addition to his work as a composer, Boyer conducts in his
spare time! He’s been seen leading the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Hartford
Symphony, and the Pasadena Symphony – just to name a few!
One
of Boyer’s more major works that you perhaps might not be as familiar with is
his Ellis Island: The Dream of America.
This piece is for actors and orchestra and celebrates the American immigrant
experience. Part of the performance includes projections of historical images
from Ellis Island archives. The spoken portions come from real interviews with
immigrants. Boyer worked to create monologues surrounded by complementary
music. This piece was so successful that it was nominated for a Grammy award in
2006!
