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.
James O. Ellis
His sea duty billets as a Navy fighter pilot included tours with Fighter Squadron 92 aboard USS Constellation (CV-64) and Fighter Squadron 1 aboard USS Ranger (CV-61). Ellis was the first Commanding Officer of Strike/Fighter Squadron 131, deploying in 1985 with new F/A-18 Hornets aboard USS Coral Sea (CV-43). He served as Executive Officer of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and as Commanding Officer of USS La Salle (AGF-3), the Persian Gulf flagship of the Commander, Joint Task Force, Middle East. In 1991 he assumed command of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and participated in Operation Desert Storm while deployed during her maiden voyage in the western Pacific and Persian Gulf. In June 1995, Ellis assumed command of Carrier Group Five/Battle Force Seventh Fleet, breaking his flag aboard USS Independence (CV-62), forward deployed to the Western Pacific and homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. As Carrier Battle Group Commander he led contingency response operations to both the Persian Gulf and Taiwan Straits.