The Tragic Nature Of Being Ugly

For flute, oboe, clarinet, trombone, viola, bass, and narrator.

Commissioned by OperaFeHk in 2012.

Duration approximately 12’00.

This piece was born out of true happenstance: Once upon a time, while drooling through one of my theory classes, a friend of mine engaged me in a story writing game. She began by writing the phrase, “Once upon a time there was a house on top of an enormous hill. The townspeople beneath the hill were afraid of it because…” with the expectation that I would complete the sentence and we’d continue along in this fashion. I will never forget the sense of satisfaction I felt when I responded with, “…because it had great galloping hippo legs”.

The piece tells the surreal tale of a house with hippopotamus legs. Colleagues of mine have often adapted it with theatric flair to delight and mystify their audiences.