Commissioned by Bronson Hospital for the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (Raymond Harvey, conductor) to celebrate the opening of the New Bronson Hospital in 2000. The work has become quite popular through Boyer’s 2001 recording leading the London Symphony Orchestra. 

Instrumentation: 3(II,III=picc).3(III=corA).3(III=bcl).3(III=cbsn)—4.3.3.1 timp.perc(4)—harp—pft(=cel)—strings

Peter Boyer was born in Providence, R.I., on February 10, 1970. He lives in Altadena, Calif.

Peter Boyer is one of the most frequently performed American orchestral composers. His major work Ellis Island: The Dream of America has received performances by 70 orchestras since its 2002 premiere. Its recording was nominated for a Grammy.

Boyer also is active as a film orchestrator. In recent years, Boyer has contributed orchestrations to more than 30 Hollywood scores, including both Fantastic Beasts films, Jurassic World, Inside Out, Star Trek (2009), Up, Cars 2, Skyfall and Finding Dory.

Boyer received degrees from the Hartt School of Music. He studied privately with John Corigliano in New York, then moved to Los Angeles to study film and TV scoring at the USC Thornton School of Music. 

“New Beginnings” was commissioned by Bronson Hospital for the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the opening of the New Bronson Hospital in 2000. Boyer conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in a 2001 recording of the piece. He wrote the following note about the piece.

“New Beginnings” is in one movement that falls into four clearly delineated sections. The first section, in a fast tempo, is dominated by a fanfare, which begins immediately in the trumpets and horns. This fanfare leads to a percussion flourish and a swell of sound in which the entire orchestra gradually enters. A relentlessly repeated rhythmic figure begins in the strings (here divided into 12 parts instead of the customary five), and continues for some time, while the brass punch out figures derived from the fanfare, and the flutes and clarinets add a busy filigree. 

“Pyramids” of sound, built up from bottom to top, appear in the brass, and the energy of the first section begins to subside, ushering in the second section. This is in a slow tempo (exactly half that of the first), and is dominated by a melody first played by a solo oboe. This simple, “folk-like” tune is the most important melody in the work. After the oboe, it is played by a solo trumpet, followed by the strings and horns in canon, while the fanfare motive is tossed around above it by the piccolos. A short duet for English horn and flute follows. 

The flute plays the beginning of the melody, then introduces a rhythmic idea which accelerates into the third section, which is in a moderate tempo. The horns introduce a new melody here, while the rest of the orchestra provides a busy accompaniment. The energy of this third section gradually dissipates, until all that remains is the flute and a few violins.

This leads to the fourth and largest section of the piece, which is characterized by mixed meters. Two prominent mixed meters used here are 7/8 (always 3+2+2), introduced by shaker, triangle, and congas; and later, 10/8 (always 3+3+2+2), introduced by flutes. In this section, both the opening fanfare motive and the previous horn melody recur in new rhythmic guises. Percussion features prominently in this section. There is a gradual buildup of energy, which leads to a return of the formerly “folk-like” tune, now played in grand fashion by the trumpets and strings, with a number of busy accompanying figures in the rest of the orchestra. This leads to the return of the complete opening fanfare, now in a new, brighter key, following which the percussion punctuates the orchestra’s final flourish.

“New Beginnings” has been heard from Carnegie Hall to the Kansas prairie, and adapted for such varied occasions as the 75th anniversary of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, background music on CBS This Morning, and in numerous arrangements for concert bands and marching bands, in addition to its many concert performances by such orchestras as the Houston Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and Buffalo Philharmonic.