Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork III (born April 17, 1941) is an American composer and educator. He was born in Rochester, New York, and grew up in Albany, New York, where he studied violin, piano, organ, and voice. He currently resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Career

Hailstork began his musical career in 1963, when he studied composition with Mark Fax at Howard University, Washington, D.C. (BMus 1963). In the summer of 1963 he attended the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, France, where he studied with Nadia Boulanger. In 1965, Hailstork received a Bachelor of Music from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied under Vittorio Giannini and David Diamond, and in 1966 received a Master of Music at the same institution.

In October 2022, he was featured as "Composer of the Week" on BBC Radio 3.

Hailstork married in 2007.

  • 1977: Belwin-Mills Max Winkler Award, presented by the Band Directors National Association
  • Out of Depths
  • 1987: Fulbright fellowship for study in Guyana
  • 1992: named a Cultural Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia
  • 1999: Brock Commission from the American Choral Directors Association
  • 2001: Doctor of Humane Letters honorary doctorate from the College of William & Mary

Hailstork is published by Theodore Presser Company and Carl Fischer Music. Old Dominion University holds several archival documents of Adolphus Hailstork in the special collections area of the F. Ludwig Diehn Composers Room, in the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center.

Selected works

Works for Solo Instruments

  • 2 Scherzos for solo piano
  • Bassoon Set for solo bassoon
  • Eight Variations On "Shalom Chaverim" for solo piano
  • Five Friends for solo piano
  • Flute Set for solo flute
  • Four Preludes for solo harp
  • Great Day (That Great Gittin' Up Mornin') for solo carillon
  • Ignis Fatuus (Mysterious Fires) for solo piano
  • Piano Sonata No. 2 for solo piano
  • Piano Sonata No. 3 for solo piano
  • The Surprising Thing Is for solo violin
  • Theme and Variations on "Draw the Sacred Circle Closer" for solo Cello
  • Sonata for Solo Cello
  • Three Smiles for Tracy for solo clarinet
  • Trio Sonata for solo piano
  • Two Studies on Chant Melodies for solo organ
  • Variations for solo trumpet

Toccata on Veni Emmanuel for Organ/E.C.Schirmer 1996

Works for Chamber Ensemble

  • American Fanfare for 3Tpt. 4Hn. 3Tbn. Tu. 3Perc. Timp.
  • American Landscape for string duet
  • Armegeddon for organ and two percussion
  • As Falling Leaves
  • Baroque Suite for violin and piano
  • The Blue Bag for clarinet and piano
  • Consort Piece for septet
  • Divertimento for violin and viola
  • Evensong for violin and cello
  • Fanfare on Amazing Grace for brass quintet, timpani, and organ
  • "Fantasy, Elegy & Caprice" for cello and piano
  • Fantasy Piece for viola and piano
  • Four Hymns Without Words for trumpet and piano
  • Guest Suite for four hands on one piano
  • Ghosts in Grey and Blue for trumpet, horn, and trombone
  • I Am Only One for SATB choir
  • John Henry's Big (Man vs. Machine) for trombone and piano
  • Little Diversions for Lord Byron's Court for two violins or string duet
  • Sanctum for clarinet and piano or viola and piano
  • A Simple Caprice for clarinet and piano
  • Sonata for trumpet and piano
  • Sonata for two pianos
  • Springtime for Elephants for two tubas
  • String Quartet No. 1
  • String Quartet No. 2 - Variations on "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"
  • Three Meditations for viola and organ
  • Two by Two for horn and trombone
  • Variations on a Guyanese Folk Song for violin and piano
  • Ventriloquist Acts of God for soprano and piano
  • Violin Concerto for violin and piano
  • Who is Sylvia? For Coloratura Soprano, Violin, and Piano

Works for Chorus and Orchestra

  • Break Forth for Chorus and Orchestra
  • Crispus Attucks - American Patriot for mezzo, tenor, bass-bariton, large chorus, and orchestra

Works for Chorus

  • Shout for Joy (The Bank Street Festival Anthem)

Works for Wind Ensemble

  • American Guernica

Works for Orchestra

  • An American Port of Call
  • Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed In memoriam: Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)
  • Essay for Strings

References

  • "Kaleidoscope: The Musical World of Adolphus Hailstork" at Old Dominion University Libraries
  • Adolphus Hailstork's page at Theodore Presser Company
  • "Adolphus C. Hailstork (b. 1941) – African American Composer & Professor" at AfriClassical.com