Percussive Storytelling

Cory Hills created Percussive Storytelling in 2008 with a mission to bring classical music and storytelling to kids in low-income communities. Since its inception, Cory has presented more than 900 programs to over 215,000 children in ten different countries, released two award-winning audio CDs, and published three children's books. Cory has partnered with many great organizations throughout the United States in an attempt to bring the arts out of the concert hall and into the community, focusing on equitable arts access.

Percussive Storytelling was originally created in response to Cory's growing dismay at the dwindling audience for more avant-garde or experimental percussion concerts. While improvising, Cory realized a circular pattern he was playing on blocks and bells sounded like a bicycle. He sat down, wrote The Lost Bicycle, composed the music, and Percussive Storytelling was born. Since The Lost Bicycle, Cory has written nearly four dozen percussive stories. These stories come from everywhere: old folktales, adapted stories, original stories, classics, and his own children! Instruments and compositional styles come from all over the world, adding a multicultural and interdisciplinary aspect to the program. To Cory, the beauty of Percussive Storytelling is in its simplicity; anyone can recreate it anywhere. True, he might be able to move his hands really, really, really fast, but Percussive Storytelling can be replicated by anyone, especially in classrooms and libraries.

Empower kids through music & storytelling: Learn more at SplatBoomBang! (https://splatboombang.com/)

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