On the 2023-24 season finale concert, audiences were treated to a spellbinding performance by Yo-Yo Ma. But they also were the first to experience the world premiere of TSO co-commission, Horizons by Peter Boyer. All commissions are special, but this piece has extra special meaning for the organization, as it was commissioned in honor of the retirement of Pat Joslyn, Senior Vice President of Administration, Operations, and Artistic Planning.
Peter Boyer has been composing since high school, when he began playing piano and writing songs. At the age of 17, he undertook a project to write a Requiem Mass in honor of his grandmother. This project took on a life of its own and ended with a premiere (while he was in college) that included 300 performers. He was recognized locally and nationally for this work, and the rest, as they say, is history. Boyer is now regularly commissioned by some of the most important orchestras and ensembles, including the Kennedy Center for the National Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, the Cincinnati Pops, and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band (for a fanfare of the Inauguration of President Joe Biden). But it’s his large-scale work for actors and orchestra, Ellis Island: The Dream of America, that brought him and Pat together.
Peter and Pat first met in 2011, when she was working in Sarasota and programmed Ellis Island. The two stayed in touch, and when the opportunity arose to commission a piece, along with Sarasota and Brevard, in honor of her retirement, Peter came immediately to mind. The project took several years from start to finish, during which time Pat had just one request for the piece: that it have a killer horn part, to honor her career as a French Horn player.
Horizons is a work in two parts: “Reflection” and “Celebration.” It opens with a shimmering gesture brought to life by the metallic percussion, leading directly into the triumphant horn line. The horn is joined by strings, and the piece grows from there. “Reflection” is guided by the optimistic and heroic horn line, and is followed by “Celebration,” which Boyer describes as 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.”
This piece was co-commissioned with the Sarasota and Brevard Symphonies, both places where Pat spent parts of her career (read more about Pat). Boyer remarked that one of the very special things about this co-commission is that it honors not only a person, but their career and contribution to the field, from the orchestras that they were a part of. Co-commissions also mean that the piece will be heard by more audiences (in this case across the country). Over the next year, the piece will have its additional performances by the co-commissioning orchestras: Brevard in October, and Sarasota in April.
As for Boyer, he has a busy couple years of work ahead, with two large-scale commissions that will be played by some of the most prominent orchestras in the country. While he can’t reveal too many details yet, one will be a visual work celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States, and one is a large piece for solo voices, chorus and orchestra.
Horizons was made possible thanks in part to a generous group of donors who came together to support the commission. Our thanks to donors:
Ame Austin
Michael and Kay Anderson
Carol des Cognets
Andrea and Harry Crane
Tom and Cindy Elliott
John Hildebrand and Gail Burd
Jan Konstanty and Patricia Wallace
Cyndi Miller
Jim and Vivian Schwab
David Gilbert and David Farneth
