Peter Boyer is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

, and professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of music. He is known primarily for his orchestral works, which have received over 250 performances, by more than 90 orchestras.

Biography and Work

Boyer received a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree from Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College is a nationally ranked, coeducational, state-supported comprehensive college founded in 1854, located in Providence, Rhode Island, USA...

. While an undergraduate, USA TODAY

USA Today

USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

 newspaper named him to its first All-USA College Academic Team (1990), composed of “the 20 best and brightest” college students in the United States, and he received the Young American Award

Young American Award

The Young American Award is an award of the Boy Scouts of America for outstanding college students ages 19 through 25 who have achieved excellence in the fields of art, athletics, business, community service, education, government, humanities, literature, music, religion, and science; and have...

. He received Master of Music

Master of Music

The Master of Music is the first graduate degree in Music awarded by universities and music conservatories. The M.Mus. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy...

 and Doctor of Musical Arts

Doctor of Musical Arts

The Doctor of Musical Arts degree is a doctoral academic degree in music. The D.M.A. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy. The D.M.A...

 degrees from The Hartt School of the University of Hartford

University of Hartford

The University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of...

, where he studied composition with Larry Alan Smith and Robert Carl

Robert Carl

Robert Carl is an American composer who currently resides in Hartford, Connecticut, where he is chair of the composition department at the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford.-Music:...

 and conducting with Harold Farberman

Harold Farberman

Harold Farberman is an American conductor, composer, and percussionist.-Biography:Farberman studied percussion at Juilliard and composition at the New England Conservatory and at Tanglewood with Aaron Copland...

. Boyer then studied privately with composer John Corigliano

John Corigliano

John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...

 in New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, before relocating to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 to attend the Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television Program at the USC Thornton School of Music

USC Thornton School of Music

The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, founded in 1884 and dedicated in 1999, is one of the premier music schools in the United States...

. There Boyer studied with composers including Elmer Bernstein

Elmer Bernstein

Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...

, David Raksin

David Raksin

David Raksin was an American composer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With over 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit, he became known as the "Grandfather of Film Music." One of his earliest film assignments was as assistant to Charlie Chaplin in the composition of the score...

, Buddy Baker

Buddy Baker (composer)

Norman "Buddy" Baker was an American composer who scored many of Walt Disney's films, such as The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, The Shaggy D.A., The Million Dollar Duck and The Fox and the Hound.Baker was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, and got his degree in...

 and Christopher Young

Christopher Young

Christopher Young is an American music composer for both film and television.Many of his music compositions are for horror films, including Hellraiser, Tales from the Hood, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Urban Legend, and Drag Me to Hell...

. On completing his studies in 1996, Boyer was appointed to the faculty of Claremont Graduate University

Claremont Graduate University

Claremont Graduate University is a private, all-graduate research university located in Claremont, California, a city east of downtown Los Angeles...

, and in 1999 he was named the first recipient of its Helen M. Smith Chair in Music. In 2003, Boyer established the publishing company Propulsive Music.

Boyer has received a number of significant commissions for his work. Among the many orchestras that have performed Boyer’s works are the Boston Pops Orchestra

Boston Pops Orchestra

The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....

, Dallas Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Pacific Symphony

Pacific Symphony

The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra located in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstom Concert Hall, part of the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California...

, Phoenix Symphony

Phoenix Symphony

The Phoenix Symphony is a major United States symphony orchestra based in Phoenix, Arizona.Founded in 1947 when Phoenix had a population of less than 100,000, the orchestra began as an occasional group of musicians performing a handful of concerts each year...

, Brooklyn Philharmonic

Brooklyn Philharmonic

The Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, commonly known as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, is an American orchestra based in the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City...

, Buffalo Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony, Kansas City Symphony

Kansas City Symphony

The Kansas City Symphony is a United States symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The current music director is conductor Michael Stern. The current home of the Symphony is the Lyric Theatre, located in Downtown Kansas City on 11th Street between Wyandotte and Central Streets...

, Virginia Symphony

Virginia Symphony Orchestra

The Virginia Symphony Orchestra is an American regional orchestra in the Hampton Roads metro area. The orchestra performs at several venues in Virginia, including Chrysler Hall in Norfolk and the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News....

, Hartford Symphony, and Bamberg Symphony. In 2001, Boyer conducted the London Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...

 at Abbey Road Studios

Abbey Road Studios

Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...

 in his debut commercial recording. On its release, Boyer became one of the youngest composers to have an entire album of his orchestral music recorded with a world-class orchestra and distributed by an international record label (Koch

Koch Records

E1 Music , the primary subsidiary of E1 Entertainment LP, is the largest independent record label in the United States. It is also distributed by the Universal Music Group in Europe under the name E1 Universal...

). This recording was widely broadcast and acclaimed: “Peter Boyer makes a most impressive debut on disc as composer and conductor of his own music. At its finest, his music is attractive, finely crafted with a genuine humanity, refreshing for being non-didactic in these times of preachy self-importance.”

In 2003, Boyer conducted London’s Philharmonia Orchestra

Philharmonia Orchestra

The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...

 in a recording of his work Ellis Island: The Dream of America

Ellis Island: The Dream of America

Ellis Island: The Dream of America is a work for actors and orchestra with projected images by American composer Peter Boyer, composed in 2001-02, commissioned by the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut...

, later working with a distinguished cast of actors in New York City to complete this recording project, which was released on the Naxos

Naxos Records

Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...

 record label. The recording received a Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 nomination for Best Classical Contemporary Composition in the 48th annual Grammy Awards (2006). Ellis Island has become Boyer’s best-known work, with over 100 performances given by 50 orchestras, and has been much acclaimed: “Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America is a work of rare authenticity and directness.”

In February 2010, the Boston Pops Orchestra

Boston Pops Orchestra

The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....

 and Conductor Keith Lockhart

Keith Lockhart

For the baseball player, see Keith Lockhart Keith Lockhart , to Newton Frederick and Marilyn Jean Woodyard Lockhart, is an American orchestral conductor....

 announced that they had commissioned Boyer to compose a work entitled The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers, celebrating the legacy of John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

, Robert F. Kennedy

Robert F. Kennedy

Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...

, and Edward M. Kennedy as the centerpiece of the orchestra’s 125th anniversary season.^, In April 2010, the Boston Pops announced the participation of Hollywood actors Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...

, Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...

, and Ed Harris

Ed Harris

Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies...

 as the narrators for Boyer’s work. The Dream Lives On was premiered at Boston’s Symphony Hall on May 18, 2010. The event received extensive media attention, was attended by many members of the Kennedy family, and was recorded and telecast on Boston’s WCVB-TV

WCVB-TV

WCVB-TV, channel 5, is a television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Hearst Television and affiliated with the ABC Television Network. WCVB-TV's studios and transmitter are co-located in Needham, Massachusetts. WCVB is also one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada by...

.^, The Boston Globe wrote: “Boyer’s work accomplishes the goals… of amplifying the texts by these three American icons. His writing draws from the traditions of Williams-esque Hollywood film scores, Broadway musicals, and American neo-Romanticism."

Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya

Miguel Harth-Bedoya

Miguel Harth-Bedoya is a Peruvian conductor, currently Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra , a position he has held since 2000.He was born in Lima, Peru...

 appointed Boyer as the Composer-in-Residence for the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Fort Worth, Texas. The orchestra performs at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in downtown Fort Worth...

 for the 2010–11 season.

In addition to his work for the concert hall, Boyer is active in the film and television music industry. He has composed scores for The History Channel

The History Channel

History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...

, and has served as an orchestrator for composers such as Michael Giacchino

Michael Giacchino

Michael Giacchino is an American composer who has composed scores for movies, television series and video games. Some of his most notable works include the scores to television series such as Lost, Alias and Fringe, games such as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series, and films such as...

, Mark Isham

Mark Isham

Mark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...

, Michael Kamen

Michael Kamen

Michael Arnold Kamen was an American composer , orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician.-Background:...

, Graeme Revell

Graeme Revell

Graeme Revell is a New Zealand film score composer.Revell attended Auckland Grammar School, where he finished his final year in 7A...

, and others, on films from Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

, 20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...

, Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

, Disney/Pixar, Touchstone Pictures

Touchstone Pictures

Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...

, Universal Studios

Universal Studios

Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

 and Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

.

Boyer’s awards include two BMI

Broadcast Music Incorporated

Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...

 Student Composer Awards (1994 and 1996), the First Music Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

 commission of the New York Youth Symphony

New York Youth Symphony

The New York Youth Symphony is a tuition-free music organization for youth in New York City. Its programs include its flagship symphony orchestra, Chamber Music program, Jazz Band Classic, Apprentice Conducting, and Making Score. Its members range from 12 to 22 years of age...

 (1997), the Ithaca College

Ithaca College

Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...

 Heckscher Prize in composition (2002), the Alumnus of the Year Award from The Hartt School (2002), an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College is a nationally ranked, coeducational, state-supported comprehensive college founded in 1854, located in Providence, Rhode Island, USA...

 (2004), and the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra

Lancaster Symphony Orchestra

The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra is a local orchestra nestled in the heart of Amish country in the All-America city of Lancaster, PA. They perform year-round at the city's historical Fulton Opera House and is consisted of many highly talented musicians from around the area.It is a member of the...

 Composer's Award (2010).

Selected Compositions

• The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers for narrators, chorus and orchestra (2009–10)
• Sudden Light for soprano and piano (2008–09, in progress)
• American Rhapsody for piano and orchestra (2007–08)
• Dreaming a World for narrator, children’s chorus, mixed chorus, percussion and orchestra (2006)
• And the night shall be filled with music for chorus and piano (2005)
• Silver Fanfare for orchestra (2004)
• On Music’s Wings for soprano, baritone, children’s chorus, mixed chorus and orchestra (2003–04)
• Ellis Island: The Dream of America
  Ellis Island: The Dream of America
  Ellis Island: The Dream of America is a work for actors and orchestra with projected images by American composer Peter Boyer, composed in 2001-02, commissioned by the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut...
  
  for actors and orchestra with projected images (2001–02)
• Ghosts of Troy for orchestra (2000)
• New Beginnings for orchestra (2000)
• Three Olympians for string orchestra (2000)
• At the Crossings for four brass quartets and four percussion (1998)
• The Phoenix for orchestra (1997)
• Celebration Overture for orchestra (1997)
• Titanic for orchestra (1995)
• perchance to dream… for soprano and chamber orchestra (1993–94)
• Mosaic for orchestra (1992–93)
• I Can Recall for soprano and piano (1990)

External links

• Propulsive Music: The Music of Peter Boyer official website
• Claremont Graduate University Music Department faculty official website
• Peter Boyer at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  
• Peter Boyer at Crossover Media
• “Peter Boyer: Escape to LA: Ken Smith meets Peter Boyer, and finds a young composer with a very bright future,” Gramophone online edition (October 2001)
• “Peter Boyer: From Student Composer to the Top of His Class,” Jon Burlingame, BMI MusicWorld (November 30, 2001)
• “Exiles, Lost and Found,” Porter Anderson, CNN.com (February 9, 2006)
• “The Kennedy Legacy, Set to Music,” David Weininger, The Boston Globe (May 14, 2010)
• “Boston Pops Unveils Musical Tribute to Kennedys,” Bob Salsberg, Associated Press, ABC News (May 18, 2010)
• “Boston Pops Provides Soundtrack for Famous Kennedy Words,” Andrea Shea, WBUR.org (May 19, 2010)
• “Composer Peter Boyer’s Great American Tribute,” Jonathan Marx, BMI MusicWorld (June 18, 2010)