Ellis Island: Dream of America

This powerful program features contemporary works that speak to our collective memory and national identity. Carlos Simon’s music opens the concert with a stirring expression of history, hope, and heart. Pianist Artina McCain returns to perform George Gershwin’s jazz-inflected Piano Concerto in F, a thrilling work of rhythmic vitality and lush romanticism. The evening culminates in Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America—a multimedia masterpiece combining orchestra, actors, and archival imagery. With texts drawn from the Ellis Island Oral History Project, this moving work honors the hopes and journeys of immigrants who helped shape the American story. A dynamic and unforgettable experience.