The Classics a Day team has celebrated Black composers before. This time around, I tried to avoid duplication with previous posts. It was easy to do. There is a lot of classical music by persons of color, both in the past as well as the present. A lot. Here are my posts for the third […]
Adolphus Hailstork
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#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalChristmas Week 4
For the past four years, the #ClassicsaDay team has adopted Classical Christmas as its theme for December. And why not? We have a rich body of music related to the season dating back to the Middle Ages. A good deal of it is religious, but not all — many works are simply inspired by the […]
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Classical Interviews – Adolphus Hailstork
Photo by Fresno PhilharmonicAdolphus Hailstork, a composer, scholar, and musician, spoke with WTJU about his start in composing, meeting a lifelong goal, and his most recent work. Dr. Hailstork has written numerous works for chorus, solo voice, piano, organ, various chamber ensembles, band, orchestra, and opera. Hailstork’s newest works include THE WORLD CALLED (based on […]
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#ClassicsaDay #BlackLivesMatter Week 2
The Classics a Day team unanimously decided to make #BlackLivesMatter the theme for July. Classical music isn’t immune to systemic racism. It’s an art form that, like painting, sculpture, literature, or poetry, is a powerful form of expression for many voices. But some voices are heard more often than others. If you’d like to learn […]
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July 4th Classical Music – Moving 1776 beyond 1812
For Independence Day celebrations, there few classical works that make the cut. You can usually count on hearing a John Philip Sousa march. Perhaps Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” And, if the presenters have the budget and/or a National Guard armory nearby, Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.” Time for a change I get it. “1812” […]
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#ClassicsaDay #BlackMusicMonth Week 2
Since 1979, June has been African-American Music Appreciation Month. The Classics a Day team decided to adopt it for the June 2019 theme as well. Popular music genres will no doubt be well-represented by others. We’ll be focusing on the composers, conductors, and performing artists of color who have contributed to classical music. For my […]
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#ClassicsaDay #WeWriteSymphonies Annotated List – Week 3
I’m a regular contributor to the #ClassicsaDay feed on Twitter. At a speech in Poland on 7/6/17, the President said, “The world has never known anything like our community of nations. We write symphonies.” The next day #WeWriteSymphonies appeared on Twitter, citing all the non-Western — and non-white — composers who do indeed write symphonies. […]
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Adolphus Hailstork – An American Port of Call
American composer Adolphus Hailstork has been quietly building up an impressive catalog of well-crafted works. This new collection brings some of them to light. Hailstork’s Symphony No. 1 is an expansive work with plenty of energy. Hailstork’s melodies are always tuneful and rhythmic, which makes this symphony sparkle. For the most part, the work’s thinly […]