SONGS OF THE SPIRIT Music & words by Thomas Hewitt Jones
The Royal School of Church Music launches a major new choral commission as part of its centenary celebrations in 2027.
Songs of the Spirit is an exciting new suite of songs by award-winning British composer Thomas Hewitt Jones, created to uplift and inspire singers of all ages and backgrounds. With accessible yet impactful music, this 40-minute piece is perfect for community choirs, youth ensembles, chamber choirs, church choirs and can be performed in a wide range of settings.
At its heart, the work explores a deeply human theme – the longing for safety and belonging in an increasingly complex world. Rooted in Christian values, the piece offers a message of kindness and hope, whilst inviting reflection on profound questions about identity, purpose and the human spirit in 2026 and beyond.
Unforgettable melodies, lyrical clarity, and radiant harmonies will all weave into a musical tapestry expressing the emotional weight and beauty of the themes at play.
The piece is scored for SATB but is flexible and will include movements suitable for children’s choir alone, and a rousing final hymn-like movement with the option of audience participation. It will be suitable for performance either as a whole, or as standalone movements, with scoring options for piano, organ and strings.
Listen to an excerpt here:
Following the success of A Season to Sing, the RSCM’s previous co-commissioning project with composer Joanna Forbes L’Estrange and over 50 choirs worldwide, the RSCM now invites choirs to be part of its centenary celebrations. In exchange for a donation of £300, co-commissioning choirs will have the exclusive right to perform Songs of the Spirit during its first year, and also receive the following benefits:
- A commemorative, hard-bound signed score
- Your choir’s name in the list of commissioners in the printed score
- 30% off all scores purchased for your choir within the first year of publication.
- Access to full support resources to aid learning
- Media promotion of your choir and its performance of the piece
- A personalised video message from Thomas Hewitt Jones for your choir
This is an exciting opportunity to bring a powerful, appealing and uplifting new work to the contemporary choral music repertoire while allowing choirs to share their journey with the RSCM to ensure choral music stays accessible and widespread.
Songs of the Spirit will be available from September 2026
The success of a previous jointly commissioned work, A Season to Sing by Joanna Forbes L’Estrange (premiered in Spring 2025, with over 50 performances world wide to date), demonstrates the value of this model, with co-commissioning choirs praising the excellent resources provided, efficiency, and feeling valued throughout the process.
RSCM Director Hugh Morris says: “We were delighted that in 2022 many hundreds of choirs were united in singing a piece specially written for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Now, in 2023, we hope that even more will want to learn Joanna’s The Mountains shall bring peace and join with choirs from around the world to celebrate the first Coronation in 70 years.”
Composer Joanna Forbes L’Estrange says: “I was keen to find words which reflected not only King Charles’s faith but also something of his passion for the natural world and his love of the outdoors. When I think of our former Prince of Wales, I picture him walking in the Welsh mountains or in the Scottish Highlands. I’m also all too aware that this Coronation is taking place during a very turbulent time for our country and our planet and so I was searching for words which would in some way give us all hope for the future. Central to the commission brief was a big, singable tune, the kind of memorable melody which anyone and everyone can enjoy singing at the tops of their voices.”
The Cross-Eyed Pianist 