With immigration much in the news this year, this spring’s performances of Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America by California’s Pacific Symphony acquired fresh resonance. The 2002 work pays tribute to U.S. immigrants arriving between 1910 and 1940 by blending music, narration, and projected images highlighting individual immigrants. The April 8-10 performances at Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, led Music Director Carl St.Clair, were part of the orchestra’s annual American Composers Festival, and the program was recorded for future telecast on PBS’s “Great Performances.” In conjunction with the performances, the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations—a non-profit whose mission is to foster tolerance, respect, and understanding among religious and ethnic groups—hosted a ceremony for approximately 150 Ellis Island Medal of Honor winners who attended the April 8 concert.
