Commissioned as a festive orchestral work inspired by Charles Dickens’ The Cricket on the Hearth, the piece introduces playful character themes—from a chirping cricket to the story’s lovers and villain—woven into a spirited musical tale in the spirit of Christmas.
Ensemble: Thornton Tribute Orchestra, conducted by Brent McMunn
Venue: Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California
Commissioned by: Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California
In October 2012, the Thornton School of Music named me the inaugural “James Newton Howard Scholar” for my work in film music at the University of Southern California. As part of that honor, I was commissioned to compose this five minute orchestral piece in the spirit of Christmas for the Charles Dickens Dinner. Before I began writing, I read one of Dickens’ lesser known Christmas books, “The Cricket on the Hearth,” which inspired me to compose themes for the cricket (the “chirp tune”) heard at the beginning of the piece, Peerybingle’s masculine theme, Dot’s love theme, and of course, Tackleton’s antagonist theme.
