Ellis Island: The Dream of America
Ellis Island: The Dream of America is a work for actors and orchestra with projected images by American composer Peter Boyer, composed in 2001-02, commissioned by the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, Connecticut. The work combines first-person narrations of seven immigrants who entered the United States through Ellis Island between 1910 and 1940, selected by Boyer from the Ellis Island Oral History Project, with Boyer’s original orchestral music. The work has received over 170 performances by more than 75 orchestras. A recording of the work released on the Naxos record label was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition in the 48th annual Grammy Awards. In April 2017, performances by Pacific Symphony of "Ellis Island: The Dream of America" were filmed for broadcast on PBS’ "Great Performances" series in the 2017-18 broadcast season.
Ulrich Ellis
In 1928, Ellis was appointed private secretary to Earle Page, the leader of the Country Party. They became close friends, and Ellis shared Page's passion for the New State Movement, which advocated for the creation of new states in regional New South Wales and Queensland. In 1933, Ellis served as the publicity officer for Charles Hardy's Riverina Movement, which advocated the secession of the Riverina from the rest of New South Wales. The following year, he gave evidence before the New South Wales royal commission on new states, chaired by Judge Harold Sprent Nicholas. Ellis served on the executive of the New England New State Movement from 1948, and he and his wife moved to Armidale, New South Wales, in 1960. He campaigned for the "Yes" vote in the 1967 New England secession referendum, which failed.