Phonetic Punctuation

for multiple percussion and voice

Composer: Cory Hills
Year: 2009
Duration: 5 minutes

I cannot take credit for this one, although I "composed" it. Phonetic Punctuation was part of a routine by legendary pianist and entertainer Victor Borge. I grew up listening to and watching Borge on TV, as my father was a huge fan. He actually brought me to a live show of Borge's at Wolftrap before Borge passed away. Borge has been very influential on me as a performer, specifically one of new music who aims to bring new music to people in accessible ways.

As for the piece, I wrote a funny story about how I met my wife, Annalise, as the result of an order for chicken mcnuggests from McDonalds. This is not true, although we both enjoy chicken mcnuggets. I then assigned percussive sounds to the punctuation markings. Don't think too hard about this one; rather, just sit back, enjoy, and give a salute to Mr. Borge.