The Bradley Beach Arts Council is readying to premiere its showing of Peter Boyer’s orchestral piece, “Ellis Island: The Dream of America.”
The piece, which was developed by American composer Peter Boyer, is a multimedia production, using a combination of music, actors, and pictures to bring to life a compelling story about American immigration in the first half of the 20th century.
Rather than use a live ensemble orchestra, the arts council will be using a download of the music. The owners of the work are providing the arts council with official scripts, projections and the complete conductor’s score.
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According to Mr. Boyer’s official website, “Ellis Island: The Dream of America” came to creation when he began diving into the Ellis Island Oral History Project, which is an official archive of interviews and quotes from individuals who emigrated to America through the historic island located in the New York Harbor.
After extensively researching the archives, Mr. Boyer selected the stories of seven different immigrants who arrived in the United States via Ellis Island between 1910 and 1940. From there, he created short monologues for the immigrants, and wove their story into an orchestral performance. For the Bradley Beach Arts Council’s performance, seven actors from the New Jersey/New York area will be playing the roles of the immigrants.
The free performances are Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m.
The six performances will take place in the auditorium at the Bradley Beach Elementary School, 515 Brinley Ave. It is handicap accessible.
Each performance will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the cast and crew, moderated by Rebecca Flemming and Joanne Papaianni.
For more information, contact bradleybeachartscouncil@gmail.com. See the group’s Facebook page for updates, as well.
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