The Pasadena Symphony welcomes GRAMMY-nominated Peter Boyer as its Composer in Residence for the 2012-2013 season, and has commissioned his Symphony No. 1 to premiere in its 85th anniversary season. This commission has been made possible through contributions by the Trustees of Claremont Graduate University.
“We are very excited about working alongside such a well respected composer as we celebrate our 85th season,” explains Paul Jan Zdunek, Chief Executive Officer of the Pasadena Symphony Association. “Peter is an amazingly versatile talent, which is why he is in continuous demand in the orchestral and film industries.”
About Boyer: "Boyer, a resident of Altadena and Professor of Music at Claremont Graduate University, is one of the most frequently performed contemporary American orchestral composers of his generation. His work Ellis Island: The Dream of America has been performed over 125 times by nearly sixty orchestras in the last decade, and he has received commissions from organizations including the Boston Pops, Pacific Symphony, Eastern Music Festival, and the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. He has also contributed orchestrations to 20 feature film scores by top Hollywood composers."
In his role as Composer in Residence, Boyer will compose his first symphony as well as lead intimate salons with the Pasadena Symphony Association’s Fresh Ink Society. “This Society is a recently formed new music collective of the region’s most enthusiastic community leaders that are helping to realize the commission, performance and recording of its first project – the Symphony No. 1 of Peter Boyer,” states Zdunek. A wide range of community and Fresh Ink Society activities will culminate in the premiere of Boyer’s Symphony No. 1 on April 27, 2013 at Ambassador Auditorium. Full season details of the 85th anniversary season will be announced in the coming weeks.
“I am honored and excited to accept the Pasadena Symphony’s invitation to serve as its Composer in Residence for the 2012-13 season,” says Boyer. “I have long admired this excellent orchestra, whose members include musical colleagues and friends. A commission for a first symphony is both a great challenge and splendid opportunity for any composer. I’m most grateful for this opportunity, and eagerly look forward to the collaboration ahead.”
The Fresh Ink Society is raising funds for a capstone to the season-long relationship with Boyer. “We hope to record Peter’s first symphony for the Naxos label,” continues Zdunek. “We are looking to have a few more people join us and Peter in the Fresh Ink Society, so that we may share Peter’s music and our Pasadena Symphony with listeners everywhere on this internationally released CD.” For information on how to support the Fresh Ink Society of the Pasadena Symphony Association, visit PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org or call their administrative offices at (626) 793-7172.
ABOUT Peter Boyer
Grammy-nominated Peter Boyer has emerged in recent years as one of the most frequently performed American orchestral composers of his generation. His orchestral works have received over 275 public performances, by nearly 100 orchestras. He has conducted recordings of his music with two of the world’s finest orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia. His works have received numerous national broadcasts in the U.S. and abroad. He has received seven national awards for his work, including two BMI Awards for young composers, the First Music Carnegie Hall commission, and the Lancaster Symphony Composer’s Award.
Conductor Keith Lockhart chose Boyer for the Boston Pops 125th anniversary commission honoring the legacy of John, Robert, and Ted Kennedy. Acclaimed actors Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Cherry Jones narrated the premiere of Boyer’s The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers in May 2010, which was attended by many members of the Kennedy family, and received extensive national media attention. Boyer’s work was the centerpiece of the TV special An American Salute: The Boston Pops at 125, produced and broadcast by WCVB-TV, Boston’s ABC affiliate, which won a Boston/New England Emmy Award. The work was also performed at the 37th annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on the Charles River Esplanade, for an audience of over 750,000, and telecast on WBZ-TV, Boston’s CBS affiliate. The Boston Pops also performed Boyer’s Kennedy Brothers at the Tanglewood Music Festival with narrator Alec Baldwin, and at Hyannis Port with narrator Chris Cooper, and released a commercial recording of the work on the BSO Classics label.
