Adolphus Hailstork
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.
Adolphus Hailstork
- Birth Name
- Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork III
- Born
- 17 April 1941
- Birthplace
- Rochester, New York, US
- Education
- * Manhattan School of Music (BM, MM)
- Occupation
- * Composer
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- symphony · classical music · choral music · symphonic music
- Movements
- Postmodernism · postmodern music
- Teachers
- Nadia Boulanger · Mark Fax
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Adolphus Hailstork. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q365999 · wikipedia · Adolphus Hailstork
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
The documentary record
Statements marked “Documentary record” are set in the article beside the passage they confirm. Each is read from the authority records of the institutions named here; select “Prove” to see the record it was read from, where in that record, and when.
Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Biography
Biography
Adolphus Hailstork studied at Michigan State University, Manhattan School of Music and Howard University. Training under Nadia Boulanger and Mark Fax is recorded. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are symphony, classical music, choral music and symphonic music. Residence is recorded at Albany and Virginia Beach.
Key facts
Key facts
• Birth Name — Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork III • Born — 17 April 1941 • Birthplace — Rochester, New York, US • Education — * Manhattan School of Music (BM, MM) • Michigan State University (PhD) • Occupation — * Composer • educator
Documentary record
Adolphus Hailstork, recorded as a composer, was born on 17 April 1941 in Rochester, New York. The birth is recorded by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Career
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. After studying under H. Owen Reed, Hailstork received his PhD in composition from Michigan State University in 1971. From 1969 to 1971, Hailstork taught at Michigan State University. He then served as professor at Youngstown State University in Ohio from 1971 to 1976, and in 1977 accepted a post as professor of music and Composer-in-Residence at Virginia's Norfolk State University. He also taught as professor of music and Composer-in-Residence at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Hailstork's works blend musical ideas from the African, American and European traditions as these form a part of his heritage. In October 2022, he was featured as "Composer of the Week" on BBC Radio 3. Hailstork married in 2007.
Selected works
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 • Done Made My Vow for narrator, soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra • EarthRise (A Song of Healing) for two choirs and orchestra • Four Spirituals for two sopranos, mixed chorus and orchestra • The Gift of the Magi A “Choral Ballet” for dancers, chamber orchestra and children's chorus • I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, cantata for tenor, choir, and orchestra • Serenade “To Hearts Which Near Each Other Move” for SATB choir and orchestra • Songs of Innocence for three soloists, chorus and orchestra • Within Our Gates for solo soprano, solo tenor, SATB chorus and string orchestra • The World Called for solo soprano, SATB 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 • Baroque Suite for String Orchestra (with optional Harpsichord) • Church Street Serenade for String Orchestra • Concertino for Trumpet and Orchestra • Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed In memoriam: Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) • Essay for Strings • Fanfare on Amazing Grace for Orchestra • Hercules • Intrada • Lachrymosa: 1919 • Sonata for Trumpet (or Clarinet) and String Orchestra • Symphony No. 1 • Symphony No. 2 • Symphony No. 3 • Celebration! • Three Spirituals • Two Romances for Viola and Chamber Orchestra • Violin Concerto Operas • Joshua’s Boots an Opera in one Act • Paul Laurence Dunbar: Common Ground An Operatic Theaterpiece • Rise for Freedom: The John P. Parker Story
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Albany and Virginia Beach
Residences
Rochester.
Birth place
Awards and publications
• 1971: Ernest Bloch Award for choral composition • Mourn Not the Dead • 1977: Belwin-Mills Max Winkler Award, presented by the Band Directors National Association • Out of Depths • 1983: First Prize, Virginia College Band Directors • American Guernica • 1987: Fulbright fellowship for study in Guyana • 1992: named a Cultural Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia • 1995: First Prize, University of Delaware Festival of Contemporary Music • Consort Piece • 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.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Adolphus Hailstork, revision 1374785083 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.De Lerma, Dominique-Rene. "African Heritage Symphonic Series". Liner note essay. Cedille Records CDR061.
- 2.McGinty, Doris Evans. Hailstork, Adolphus. Grove Music Online. 2001-01-20. 978-1-56159-263-0.
- 3.Adolphus Hailstork BIOGRAPHY. adolphushailstork.
- 4.The Inside Story: Liz Player and ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK: CHAMBER WORKS. Navona Records. 2024-11-27.
- 5.Hailstork, Adolphus. An Interview with Adolphus Hailstork. The Choral Journal. American Choral Directors Association. 39. 7. 29–34. 1999. 0009-5028.
- 6.BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Adolphus Hailstork (1941), Other Sources of Inspiration. BBC. 2022-10-07.
- 7.Adolphus Hailstork. African American Art Song Alliance.
- 8.https://cfpca.wayne.edu/news/professor-kypros-markou-conducts-major-work-by-distinguished-african-american-composer-adolphus-hailstork-47264
- 9.Hailstork, Adolphus (Cunningham) Encyclopedia.com. www.encyclopedia.com.
- 10.Ritchie, Susan. Hailstork, Adolphus (1941-) Harvard Square Library.
- 11.American Choral Directors Association.
- 12.Honorary degree recipients. Special Collections Knowledgebase. 2020-09-25.
- 13.Composers | Theodore Presser Company.
- 14.Hailstork, Adolphus | Carl Fischer Music.
- 15.Ritchie, Susan. Hailstork, Adolphus (1941-) Harvard Square Library.
- 16.2 Scherzos.
- 17.Bassoon Set.
- 18.Eight Variations on Shalom Chaverim.
- 19.5 Friends.
- 20.Flute Set.
- 21.http://www.presser.com/shop/four-preludes-103163.html?SID=77d70ab013d43d4b6efdc4eab72c1e7b
- 22.Great day. 2020. 1197712101.
- 23.Ignis Fatuus.
- 24.http://www.presser.com/shop/piano-sonata-no-363.html?SID=fpeg1h5bfkkf0ocop8tpje7486
- 25.Piano Sonata No. 3.
- 26.The Surprising Thing is.
- 27.Theme and Variations on "Draw.
- 28.Three Smiles for Tracey.
- 29.http://www.presser.com/shop/trio-sonata-82278.html?SID=fpeg1h5bfkkf0ocop8tpje7486
- 30.http://www.presser.com/shop/two-studies-on-chant-melodies.html?SID=77d70ab013d43d4b6efdc4eab72c1e7b
- 31.Variations for Trumpet.
- 32.American Fanfare.
- 33.American Landscape No. 2.
- 34.Armageddon-Org,Perc.
- 35.As Falling Leaves.
- 36.Baroque Suite.
- 37.The Blue Bag - Cl., Pno.
- 38.Consort Piece Mixed 7Tet.
- 39.http://www.presser.com/shop/divertimento-103224.html?SID=fpeg1h5bfkkf0ocop8tpje7486
- 40.http://www.presser.com/shop/evensong-69478.html?SID=fpeg1h5bfkkf0ocop8tpje7486
- 41.Fanfare on Amazing Grace.
- 42.Fantasy Piece - Va., Pno.
- 43.Four Hymns Without Words. www.presser.com.
- 44.Guest Suite-1Pno4Hands.
- 45.Ghosts in Grey and Blue. www.presser.com.
- 46.Alliance Music Publications Inc. - I Am Only One.
- 47.John Henry's Big. www.presser.com.
- 48.Little Diversions for Lor-2 vn.
- 49.http://www.presser.com/shop/sanctum-35751.html?SID=fpeg1h5bfkkf0ocop8tpje7486
- 50.Simple Caprice, A.
- 51.http://www.presser.com/shop/sonata-108083.html?SID=fpeg1h5bfkkf0ocop8tpje7486
- 52.Sonata for Two Pianos-1Copy.
- 53.Springtime for Elephants-2copy.
- 54.http://www.presser.com/shop/string-quartet-no-4724.html?SID=fpeg1h5bfkkf0ocop8tpje7486
- 55.Variations on Swing Low, Swee.
- 56.http://www.presser.com/shop/three-meditations.html?SID=77d70ab013d43d4b6efdc4eab72c1e7b
- 57.http://www.presser.com/shop/two-by-two-100546.html?SID=4ed4auddpc69v9gtumqghnk6r3
- 58.Variations on a Guyanese Folks.
- 59.Ventriloquist Acts of God.
- 60.http://www.presser.com/shop/violin-concerto-102018.html?SID=fpeg1h5bfkkf0ocop8tpje7486
- 61.Who is Sylvia? (2 SCS, 1 Pt).
- 62.Hailstork, Adolphus | Theodore Presser Company.
- 63.The World Called.
- 64.Shout for Joy.
- 65.Adolphus Hailstork: "American Guernica". 24 January 2017.
- 66.Concertino for Trumpet and Orchestra. www.presser.com.
- 67.Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed. www.presser.com.
- 68.Opera America North American Works Directory.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 21 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
44,023 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Adolphe MartyPerson
- Adolphe NourritPerson
- Adolphe SamuelPerson
- Adolphe SaxPerson
- Adoniran BarbosaPerson
- Adrià PuntíPerson
- Adriaan Daniel FokkerPerson
- Adrian AeschbacherPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Adolphus Hailstork?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.