Horizons

Born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1970, GRAMMY-nominated composer Peter Boyer is one of the most frequently performed American orchestral composers of his generation. His works have received over 700 public performances by more than 250 orchestras, and tens of thousands of broadcasts by classical radio stations around the United States and abroad. Boyer has received commissions from major American orchestras and institutions, including the National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, and the United States Marine Band, which premiered Boyer’s Fanfare for Tomorrow at the inauguration of President Joe Biden in January, 2021. Boyer’s 2002 work Ellis Island: The Dream of America, for actors and orchestra, has been performed by over 120 orchestras since its premiere. His recording of the work was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, and in 2017, the work was filmed live in concert for PBS’ Great Performances series, broadcast on over 300 stations nationwide.

Horizons was premiered in May, 2024 by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. The composer has provided the following program notes on the piece:

“The commission for this work began with a call from Patricia “Pat” Joslyn, Senior Vice President of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, in late 2021. I had known Pat through her previous work at the Sarasota Orchestra, where she had helped to program my music. As Pat looked ahead to her retirement, she had the great idea to have the three orchestras at which she had worked—Tucson, Sarasota, and the Brevard Symphony—co-commission a new work which would be performed by all of them, and would be part of her legacy. I was delighted when she told me that I was her first choice as the composer, and that she felt a strong personal connection to my music; and so I accepted this special commission. The title of Horizons seemed appropriate when contemplating a major threshold in life—one might look out to the horizon, thinking of what has been accomplished, and imagining what lies beyond. For this nine-minute work, I chose to compose two highly contrasting sections, called “Reflection” and “Celebration.” As Pat was a horn player, she had only one specific request: that I compose good horn lines in this piece. That musical direction helped shape the first section, “Reflection.” After an introduction for spaciously-voiced strings with “glittering” figures in the percussion, harp, and piano, a solo horn plays a prominent line, which is optimistic, even heroic in character. Later the second horn joins, followed by the third and fourth horns, before this theme is taken up and developed by the full orchestra. At the six-minute mark, this theme and section reach a climax which might sound as if the piece is over—but it’s not. High violins sustain, and the percussion softly introduce a fast new rhythm, which builds to the introduction of the second section, “Celebration.” This is a vigorous, jubilant romp in 7/8 meter for the full orchestra, as we joyfully celebrate a milestone, and look to the horizon, anticipating adventures ahead.”
-Peter Boyer