Rochester, NY-born musician Adolphus Hailstork is a Professor of Music and Eminent Scholar at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Dr. Hailstork trained at Manhattan School of Music, at the American Institute at Fontainebleau with Nadia Boulanger, and at Howard University, and earned his doctorate in composition from Michigan State University. A prolific composer, his expansive portfolio includes chamber music, choral and vocal works, opera, and music for piano, organ, band, and orchestra. Today's Beautiful Music is Adolphus Hailstork's 1999 Symphony #2, commissioned by the Detroit Symphony, and inspired by the composer's 1996 trip to Africa.
From the Naxos recording label website, Dr. Hailstork said: “There I visited the forts along the coast of Ghana, and saw the dungeons where the slaves were held before being shipped overseas. I put my reaction to that sad scene in movement two of this symphony. In movement four I sought to reflect the determination of a people who had arrived in America as slaves, but struggled, with courage and faith, against numerous odds.” You can also use this link to an April 2023 PBS interview with Dr. Hailstork.
