On the Hearth (2012) – ca. 5'
2[1.2/pic] 1 2 1 - 3 2 2 0 - tmp+2 - hp, pf - str
Commissioned by the Thornton School of Music for the 2012 Charles Dickens Dinner
Premiere performance
Thornton Tribute Orchestra conducted by Brent McMunn at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, CA (December 14, 2012)
Thornton Tribute Orchestra conducted by Brent McMunn at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, CA (December 14, 2012)
PROGRAM NOTE
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.