Kat and I reworked Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf for the Peckham Chamber Orchestra (PCO), which we performed in April 2025. The idea had come about a couple of months prior – a way to integrate the More Roar synth sound (which, as an FM synth, has a rich woodwind-like quality) into an orchestral piece.

PCO is a community orchestra, and I’ve played oboe with them for a year this spring. It has a fairly unique non-hierarchical structure, and orchestra members can volunteer to conduct the orchestra in rotation.

When we thought about performing Peter and the Wolf, Kat and I knew we would have to change the original ending – where the wolf is trapped by Peter, and ends up in a zoo. In the end, what happens in the new version is that the wolf dies after choking on the hedgehog: on finding its decomposing corpse in a clearing, Peter listens to the gentle sounds of bacteria and forest life, and is slowly overwhelmed by ambient noise. The new text is available here.

We adapted the score from a Musescore transcription (thankyou Joseph Violin!), and as well as the new ending (original new work by Kat!), we cut and changed other parts. The hedgehog itself features early in the piece, and the chase scene (video below!) is followed by a ‘storm’ that we cut together from other parts of the piece.

Kat also wrote a graphical score for the hedgehog player, PCO cellist Nathan Campbell-Adams. Other instrumental additions included another cellist (Clare Taylor) with a recycled-paper-scrunching solo, playing the role of ‘nesting birds’.

It was my first time ever conducting, and quite honestly one of the more challenging things I’ve ever tried to do. We were both quite humbled by the work and detail that goes into orchestral arrangement and rehearsal, something I’ve only ever experienced as an instrumentalist. It was also extremely fun, and something I’d definitely do again.