Black Composer Showcase: Adolphus Hailstork's American Guernica
June 15, 2022
Adolphus Hailstork wrote American Guernica in remembrance of the September 15, 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. In this video, part of the Bienen School’s Black Composer Showcase series, Professor Mallory Thompson reflects on the experience of programming this powerful work for the Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Drew Edward Davies, associate professor of musicology, provides historical background on the piece and its composer.
About the Black Composer Showcase Series
The Black Composer Showcase series features performances by Bienen School voice and instrumental students and collaborative pianists, as well as scholarly background information on the works and composers provided by Bienen musicologists and conducting faculty. The goals of this series are to broaden the repertoires performed and studied at the Bienen School, inspire collaboration among music studies and performance students, and educate the Bienen School and broader communities about composers of color and their important contributions to classical music.
Learn more about the 2022 series