Two of America’s major orchestras gave important performances of Peter Boyer’s music in nearly back-to-back concerts, in Washington D.C. and Denver in early September.
On September 3, the National Symphony Orchestra, the resident orchestra of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, performed Boyer’s Rolling River (Sketches on “Shenandoah”), as part of its Labor Day Capitol Concert 2017, on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol. A crowd of several thousand filled the Capitol lawn, and gave a warm reception to Boyer’s piece, conducted by John Morris Russell. The evening’s vocal soloist was Aoife O’Donovan.
On September 9, the Colorado Symphony performed Boyer’s New Beginnings, conducted by Brett Mitchell, as the opening work of his first concert as Music Director. The evening’s featured soloist was world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming. A near-capacity crowd at Boettcher Concert Hall gave Boyer’s rousing work a standing ovation. His music was featured alongside works of Strauss, Bernstein, and Dvorák.
Both the National Symphony Orchestra and the Colorado Symphony were performing Boyer’s music for the first time at these concerts.
Top row: photos by Scott Suchman, courtesy of the National Symphony Orchestra/Kennedy Center
Bottom row: photos by Brandon Marshall, courtesy of the Colorado Symphony