Hess has also composed much concert music, particularly for symphonic wind band, including commissions from Royal Air Force Music Services and the Band of the Coldstream Guards. July 2007 saw the première of Hess’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (Classical Brits Nomination for Composer of the Year), commissioned by the Prince of Wales in memory of his grandmother. The soloist was internationally renowned pianist Lang Lang. Other commissions include a new ballet based on The Old Man of Lochnagar, a children’s story written by the Prince of Wales in 1980, commissioned and premiered by the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain; A Christmas Overture, commissioned by John Rutter and premiered by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, and A Celebration Overture, commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for its 175th anniversary and also premiered at the Royal Albert Hall in 2015.
