THE AGE OF OPTIMISM - performed by the Scottish Session Orchestra - conducted by Adam Robinson
More info & hire materials for orchestral performance are available here.
CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCES 2023!
THE CHRISTMAS STORY with Stephen Fry - Christmas Eve 24 Dec - 6.45pm on Christmas Eve
Music by Thomas Hewitt Jones - Orchestral score and parts for rental from Stainer & Bell here
(the ones we know about are below - if you know any more please contact us):
Sunday 10 December 2023, Holy Trinity Sloane Square, 7pm: ‘Incarnation’ - a large-scale Christmas oratorio, setting beautiful words by Paul Williamson. Sloane Square Choral Society & orchestra, conducted by director Oliver Lallemant. Tickets here
Tuesday 12 December 2023, Holy Trinity Sloane Square, 7.30pm - Battersea Choral Society’s Christmas Concert with Carols for All - featuring The Shepherds’ Tale. The Battersea Choral Society conducted by director Sam Evans. Tickets here
WINGS OF FREEDOM premiere concerts - RAF Central Band 29th Sept & 1st Oct
You can buy tickets for London (29 September) or Cambridge (1st October) here!
Funny Song on the ABRSM Cello Grade 2 Syllabus!
Funny Song is now an ABRSM Grade 2 Cello piece! You can buy the music for the new cello exams via the link below! Syllabus here: https://gb.abrsm.org/media/67150/cello-grade-2-from-2024-practical-grades.pdf
Funny Song sheet piano music now available from Faber Music!
REGARDS FROM ROCHESTER - the concert LIVESTREAM!
We all hope you enjoy this as much as we did putting it on - it had a stonking premiere at Rochester Cathedral tonight by John Mountford & Rochester Choral Society, Carducci Quartet & Rochester Sinfonietta - with wonderful soloists Harriet Mountford & Simon Thorpe. One happy composer!
‘Regards from Rochester’ - Rochester Choral Society 150th Anniversary commission
18th March 2023, 7pm, Rochester Cathedral - don’t miss! Tickets available here.
Here is Thomas talking about the composition of the piece on Kent Tonight TV:
COMPOSER’S NOTE
Writing ‘Regards from Rochester’ has been an extremely fulfilling and wholesome commission not only given the richness of the local history, but also due to the strength of the musical heritage of Rochester Choral Society dating all the way back to 1873. It was a privilege and a pleasure to discover the fascinating history of the Medway area, which is often referred to in relation to Charles Dickens, the former Dockyard and as a stronghold to and from London, but in fact contains numerous other riches. Spending extensive time in Rochester library and reading around the history in detail, it became swiftly apparent that the area’s rich social history made up for any perception Medway may have externally of lack of charm; as the text and music were forming, I was delighted to have conversations with local Medway Council operative John Lester, who is an 8th generation of the Lester family in Rochester and who offered personal anecdotes of life in Medway since the Victorian era, some of which I have incorporated into the work.
Above and beyond the history books and local connections, in this work I have aimed to reflect throughout the work on the nature of life in 2023, both beyond the recent pandemic (which let's face it indelibly changed life as we know it) and also in the shadow of contemporary issues that affect our society, not least our collective sense of identity and perhaps most importantly, the current climate change crisis. I hope that you enjoy this celebration of Medway’s fascinating history as much as I have enjoyed writing it this year.
Throughout the writing process I have aimed to write all of this history into an ‘oratorio of kindness’ to celebrate the quite astounding 150th Anniversary year of Rochester Choral Society, to quote my own lyrics “The First Best Choral Society.”! I am extremely grateful to John Mountford, Jeremy Lloyd, soloists Harriet and Simon, the Carducci Quartet and of our other wonderful musicians playing tonight. Here’s to the next 150 years of RCS!
REGARDS FROM ROCHESTER - movements
Introduction & Rochester
The River Medway
Gateway to Europe
The Cathedral
Seven Weeks (The Siege of Rochester, 1215)
Down to the Docks (Chatham Dockyard)
Gad’s Hill, 1857 (Charles Dickens) Charles Dickens sings about his childhood wish to purchase the house at Gad’s Hill Place, which he finally did in 1856.
Rochester’s Victorian High Street, 1860
Our Changing World (2023)
The Medway Hymn - with audience joining in unison
MEGA-VIRAL TIKTOK HIT ‘FUNNY SONG’ RELEASED AS CHRISTMAS SINGLE
Now available from all major streaming outlets including Spotify, YouTube, AppleMusic & Amazon https://sq.lnk.to/FunnyXmas
A Christmas version of the super silly Funny Song, one of TikTok’s biggest viral hits of 2022, is released on 12 December. Funny Song Christmas will be competing for No.1 in the Christmas charts against the likes of LadBaby, Lewis Capaldi, boxer Tyson Fury, and Elton John and Ed Sheeran. The original Funny Song caught the imagination of millions of TikTok video creators in 2022, with its catchy tune, toe-tapping rhythm and wacky ‘doo ba doo ba doo ba doo’ nonsense lyrics.
Funny Song has soundtracked over 8 million TikTok videos, from cute pets and funny fails to celebrity endorsements from Madonna, Kim Kardashian, Reese Witherspoon and Jason Derulo, and it’s been streamed over 9 billion times, making it one of the most recognised tunes in the world right now. Now its creators hope to spread some festive joy with a Christmas version of this TikTok hit. Award-winning composer Thomas Hewitt Jones, who wrote Funny Song, says “It’s incredible how this song has struck a chord with so many people, and taken on a life of its own. It’s heartwarming to see how one silly song can spread a little happiness right round the world, across many different countries and cultures.”
Arun Sethi, producer at Cavendish Music, says "The runaway success of Funny Song has been a joy to watch. It's always special when tracks develop a life of their own.”
At a time when people are feeling the pinch, A Funny Song Christmas will bring festive joy and a touch of silliness to cheer everyone up. It’s catchy tune and lyrics are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. This special Christmas version of Funny Song takes all the silliness that has made so many people happy already, while adding a little bit of magical Christmas spin, so that we can all be happy again this Christmas!
Listen to A Funny Song Christmas on YouTube A Funny Song Christmas is available from all major streaming outlets including Spotify, YouTube, AppleMusic & Amazon https://sq.lnk.to/FunnyXmas The sheet music of Funny Song is available from Faber Music here: A Funny Song Christmas - Cavendish Music A FUNNY SONG CHRISTMAS ℗ 2022 Cavendish Music Library Released on: 2022-12-12 Producer & composer: Thomas Hewitt Jones Contact details: Arun Sethi, Cavendish Music arun.sethi@cavendishmusic.com Press enquiries: Frances Wilson frances_wilson66@live.com
‘Funny Song’ - November 2022 update!
‘Funny Song’ currently number 2 on Tiktok! What fun!
Queen Elizabeth II - 1926-2022
New Commercial Album for the Tiktok generation - ‘Feeling Wacky’!
In the wake of the internet megahit ‘Funny Song’ (currently 8 billion streams worldwide!) I was commissioned by a couple of labels to write more tracks suitable for Tiktok and the Generation Z social media scene. Here’s the trailer below. You can find this one on Spotify here, or for licensing via Sourceaudio here.
Join me on Twitter @thewittjones
24/6/22 - TWO NEW ORCHESTRAL TITLES! (click on the images below for more information)
Duration: 7 minutes 30 seconds
2 Flutes (2. doubling picc), 2 Oboes (2. doubling cor anglais), 2 Clarinets in Bb, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns (4th horn optional), 2 Trumpets in Bb, 3 Trombones (3rd optional), Tuba, Timpani, Percussion (2 players), Harp and Strings
“When I was commissioned to write The Age Optimism for the Alleyns Symphony Orchestra the brief was to have something incredibly upbeat, joyful and exciting for the orchestra to launch a concert to celebrate a new & hopeful era as we all adapt to live alongside COVID.
The result is, I hope, an exciting and arresting concert opener which I hope will in due course find its way into the orchestral repertoire. Motivic development is heard throughout the piece as fragments of the work’s central theme are thrown back and forth across the orchestra accompanied by a backdrop of constantly-evolving orchestral textures. A sense of onward movement builds towards a vibrant climax where the melody is heard in full, and an exultation of unabashed joy is unleashed as the piece reaches its optimistic conclusion.” THJ
Full score and instrumental material via the publisher, Stainer & Bell, here
Duration: 15 minutes
For 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets in Bb, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns (4th horn optional), 2 Trumpets in Bb, 3 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion (2 players), Harp, SATB Choir (and congregation), Organ and Strings
The Christmas Story was commissioned by Canto Deo choirs and orchestra in Denver, Colorado and their conductor Jonathan Brown, and received its premiere in Christmas 2021. Scored for Narrator, Orchestra and Choir joining for the last movement, it is a rich and multicoloured musical setting of the Christmas story according to Luke’s Gospel. Written as a dramatic retelling of the Nativity, the journey to the manger is depicted through symphonic orchestration, dramatic underscore and soaring melody. The final culmination of the piece is a warm, life-affirming rendition of ‘Silent Night’ with choir and orchestra, during which audiences and congregations are encouraged to sing along with the melody line if possible and desired.
Full score and instrumental material via the publisher, Stainer & Bell, here
As featured by Classic FM!
‘Making of’ thread here! Click on the pic below to hear the single, out now on Signum Records
Get involved in the RSCM’s ‘Platinum Project’, celebrating the reign of their Patron, Her Majesty the Queen.
Click here for sheet music, recordings and to get involved with this extremely exciting celebration.
"When searching for words to set to music, it became apparent that many of the Queen's royal speeches of the years have contained pertinent and thoughtful message, all relevant today's world. I wanted to incorporate many of these in the anthem, so I decided to write new words inspired by certain quotes which particularly stood out. I hope that the result is a vibrant, uplifting (and, if I’m honest, quite emotionally-charged) piece of music which celebrates both the reign of our incredible monarch, and the ever-valuable medium of choral singing - arguably one of the most natural, uplifting and unifying experiences of the human condition.”
Meet the Composer!
“the arts at their best are an honest expression of humanity” – interview with composer Thomas Hewitt Jones
IN OUR SERVICE
Words and Music by Thomas Hewitt Jones
taking inspiration from speeches by HM The Queen.
LYRICS:
No gilded throne, nor gleaming crown of sapphire
Can sure outshine an earthly vow
To serve, to live with dignity.
With humble stewardship and sacrifice,
A pledge of unity: a vow of love.
2. Though earthly rulers’ rules are often fleeting,
Truth comes to those who nobly dare
To live a life of constancy;
To love they neighbour and they family, *ALT TEXT To love as Jesus has commanded us,
A living minstry: an act of love.
3. So ev’ry day, we strive to do what’s right;
Not choosing spite, nor breeding hate.
A life of faith and honesty.
As courage is the key to progress,
We’ll surely journey on, sustained by love.
4. The truth is, grief is the price we pay for love, *ALT TEXT The truth is, Christ gives the pattern for our love;
And surely love will life sustain.
With endless grace of heart and mind,
To ascend with ever greater purpose; *ALT TEXT A life lived ever in God’s service:
Through all the darkest times, *ALT TEXT A faithful Child of God,
To show us holy life,
Throughout the years of life, *ALT TEXT And in eternity,
A vow of love.
Words and music (C) Copyright The Royal School of Church Music 2022. All rights reserved.
More information at https://www.rscm.org.uk/get-involved/platinum-project/
SCHEDULED PERFORMANCES AT CHRISTMAS 2021
If you’re near Malvern in Worcestershire, be sure to drop by Winter Glow throughout December!
Saturday 4th December 2021
Orchestre symphonique de l’Estuaire, Canada
Thomas Le Duc-Moreau, conductor
at Salle Desjardins Telus, Rimouski, Canada
Saturday 4th December 2021
Christmas Angels - Henry Desmond Orchestra
Henry Desmond, Founder & Musical Director
at St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks, Kent
Saturday 4th December 2021
Hear the Angels Sing - Northern Doctors’ Chorus
Malcolm Moffatt, Musical Director
at St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle
Wednesday 8 December 2021
Child of the Stable’s Secret Birth
Glyndebourne Christmas Concert
Glyndebourne Festival Chorus & Tour Orchestra (conducted by Aidan Oliver)
Thursday 9 December 2021
Child of the Stable’s Secret Birth
Glyndebourne Christmas Concert
Glyndebourne Festival Chorus & Tour Orchestra (conducted by Aidan Oliver)
Saturday 11 December 2021
Child of the Stable’s Secret Birth
Glyndebourne Christmas Concert
Glyndebourne Festival Chorus & Tour Orchestra (conducted by Aidan Oliver)
Sunday 12 December 2021
Child of the Stable’s Secret Birth
Glyndebourne Christmas Concert
Glyndebourne Festival Chorus & Tour Orchestra (conducted by Aidan Oliver)
Sunday 12 December 2021
A Christmas Cracker
Sinfonieorchester Aachen - Theater Aachen
Saturday 18 December 2021
A Christmas Cracker
Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg
Theater Freiburg (conducted by Ektoras Tartanis)
Sunday 19 December 2021
A Christmas Cracker
Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg
Theater Freiburg (conducted by Ektoras Tartanis)
Thursday 23 December 2021
A Christmas Cracker
Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg
Theater Freiburg (conducted by Ektoras Tartanis)
Friday 24th December 2021
There is no rose
The Petersham Consort (directed by Ben Driver)
at St Peter's Church, Petersham, Surrey
Sunday 26 December 2021
Solingen, 11am and Remscheid, 6pm
Christmas Angels
Bergische Symphoniker
NEW
LOVE IS THE ANSWER
Soaring melodies and heartfelt lyrics seamlessly combine in this enchanting new carol.
“Intended as an antidote to the gloom and confusion of the pandemic, Love is the Answer will inspire and uplift singers and audiences alike. A must-have addition to any choir’s Christmas celebrations this year.” Stainer & Bell
This title is available from publisher Stainer & Bell either as a printed title by post or as a digital download with a single or 30-copy print licence.