Peter Boyer is one of the most frequently performed American orchestral composers of his generation. His works have received nearly 700 public performances by more than 250 orchestras, and tens of thousands of broadcasts by classical radio stations around the US and abroad. He has conducted recordings of his music with three of the world’s finest orchestras: the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Boyer’s GRAMMY-nominated Ellis Island: The Dream of America has become one of the most performed American orchestral works of recent years, with over 275 performances. In 2017, Ellis Island was filmed in concert with Pacific Symphony (conductor Carl St.Clair), and a cast of stage and screen actors for PBS’ Great Performances, America’s preeminent performing arts television series. The national telecast premiere was in June 2018.

Boyer has received commissions from prestigious American institutions and ensembles, including The Kennedy Center for the National Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Pacific Symphony, and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, which premiered his Fanfare for Tomorrow at the inauguration of President Biden. Other orchestras that have performed Boyer’s music include The Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Nashville Symphony. He has served as composer-in-residence of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and the Pasadena Symphony. In 2010, Boyer composed the Boston Pops 125th anniversary commission, The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers, which was narrated by acclaimed actors including Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Alec Baldwin.

In addition to his work for the concert hall, Boyer is active in the film and television music industry. He has contributed orchestrations to more than 35 film scores from all the major movie studios, for several leading Hollywood composers. He has arranged music for the Academy Awards, and composed music for the History Channel. His music has appeared in documentary films, short films, and a variety of television programs. He holds the Helen M. Smith Chair in Music at Claremont Graduate University. In 2019, Boyer received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which is officially recognized by both Houses of Congress as one of the most prestigious American awards. In 2023, his work Today We Ask, commissioned by ORA Singers to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, was premiered at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, London, and broadcast by Classic FM.

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