In The Christmas Mirror we join Eleanor and her Aunt Rigelia for the holidays. Eleanor, a selfish little girl, receives a special looking glass from her great-aunt on Christmas Eve. The mirror reflects the beholder's true nature -- but only on Christmas Day.

I wrote this short story on a lonely Christmas Eve in 1997, inspired by classic Christmas tales such as O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi and Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Over succeeding Christmas seasons I sketched a few brief musical interludes for it, and at conductor Sheldon Bair's invitation, I expanded the music in the summer of 2005. I revisited Winter from my Symphony of Seasons and revised and orchestrated a few of my chamber pieces to supplement the new music I'd composed for the story.