Thomas Hewitt Jones

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Thomas Hewitt Jones at the piano, 2020

Thomas Hewitt Jones (born 24 October 1984) is a British composer and music producer, working predominantly in the fields of contemporary classical and commercial music.

Thomas scored the music for the London 2012 Olympics Mascots animated films.[1]

On 11 July 2016, outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron was recorded humming four notes of an unidentified tune, which created an internet furore; on the following day, Thomas Hewitt Jones released the sheet music for a Fantasy on David Cameron: arranged for high/low solo instrument(s) and piano, which he made available for download from the Classic FM website.[2][3]

On 26 July 2017, his Worcester Service (Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis) was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 from Worcester Cathedral.

Thomas's commercial track Funny Song [4] went viral on the Tiktok platform in 2022, with over 8 billion streams worldwide as of July 2022. The track is composed & performed (voice & piano) by Thomas, and published by Cavendish Music. [5]

Early life[edit]

Thomas Hewitt Jones was born in 1984[6] in Dulwich, South London, into a musical family; his parents are both musicians and his paternal grandparents were both composers.

Educated at Dulwich College, he went on to be the organ scholar at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.[7] He was the winner of the 2003 BBC Young Composer of the Year competition, and in 2009 received a BBC Music Magazine "Premiere Album" award for producing an album of the music of Imogen Holst.[8]

Composer[edit]

On 18 May 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, The Choir of Royal Holloway, University of London and soprano Laura Wright released a new single 'Can You Hear Me?', composed by Thomas with words by long-time collaborator Matt Harvey to raise awareness of mental health, encouraging those in need to seek support.[9]

His Christmas carol Lullay, my Liking was recorded by British choir ORA Singers in 2017. [10]

Key works[edit]

  • 2006 - The Facebook song (composed together with Peter Foggitt[11])[12]
  • 2008 - The Forbidden Kingdom soundtrack (assistant to composer David Buckley)[13]
  • 2008 - Under Milk Wood (for Ballet Cymru)
  • 2008 - What Child is This?
  • 2009 - How Green was my Valley (for Ballet Cymru)
  • 2009 - Child of the Stable’s Secret Birth
  • 2009 - Romance for viola and piano
  • 2010 - Lady of the Lake (for Ballet Cymru)
  • 2012 - London 2012 / LOCOG Mascot Animated Films (soundtracks)[8]
  • 2013 - Incarnation: A Suite of Songs for Christmas
  • 2014 - Wildflower Meadows (for Arts for Rutland)
  • 2015 - Panathenaia (for the British Museum)[14]
  • 2016 - Christmas Party (Christmas Violin Concerto)[15]
  • 2017 - Worcester Service (Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis)[16]
  • 2017 - Lullay, my Liking for ORA Singers, conducted by Suzi Digby
  • 2018 - Electro Cello [17]
  • 2019 - Neoclassical [18]
  • 2021 - Cinematic Advertising [19]
  • 2022 - In Our Service[20]

Music producer[edit]

He produced This is the Day (2012) for the English composer John Rutter and his choir the Cambridge Singers and Aurora Orchestra.[21]

Personal life[edit]

Thomas scores production music from his own studio facility and lives in London with Annalisa, his wife, whom he married in 2020.[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Mascots Wenlock and Mandeville return to the big screen for the final time". 12 May 2012.
  2. ^ Ross, Daniel (13 July 2016). "Now you can play David Cameron's humming tune yourself". Classic FM. This is Global Ltd. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  3. ^ Perlman, Elizabeth (12 July 2016). "DAVID CAMERON'S DOWNING STREET HUM PROVES ONLINE HIT WITH MUSICIANS". Newsweek. Newsweek Ltd. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Funny Song". YouTube.
  5. ^ "The Inside Story of Funny Song". 24 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Thomas Hewitt Jones". editionpeters.com. Peters Edition Ltd. 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  7. ^ Coffey, David (8 April 2011). "Life of a Dulwich Composer". Dulwich OnView. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  8. ^ a b "About Thomas Hewitt Jones". MTV. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  9. ^ "Can You Hear Me?".
  10. ^ "ORA Singers — Thomas Hewitt Jones".
  11. ^ "Peter Foggitt official website".
  12. ^ "The Facebook song - Youtube". YouTube.
  13. ^ "The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) - Full Cast & Crew". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Thomas Hewitt Jones - Biography". Thomas Hewitt Jones / Metronome Music Ltd. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  15. ^ "Christmas Party". Signum Records. Thomas Hewitt Jones / Signum Records Ltd. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  16. ^ "Choral Evensong from the Three Choirs Festival".
  17. ^ "Electro Cello (EMI Juice)". Spotify.
  18. ^ "Neoclassical (EMI Juice)". Spotify.
  19. ^ "Cinematic Advertising (EMI Juice)". Spotify.
  20. ^ "In Our Service: a commission from the Royal School of Church Music for the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II".
  21. ^ "This is the day".
  22. ^ "Thomas Hewitt Jones - Biography".