Distinguished African-American composer Adolphus Hailstork has been composing since he was a child growing up in Albany, NY. Now approaching his 85th birthday, he's more prolific than ever -- he wakes up with new music in mind almost every day.

Award-winning chamber ensemble Cantori New York celebrates Hailstork's long legacy with a special tribute concert, featuring two world premieres: a new chamber orchestration of his signature oratorio Crispus Attucks and the brand new Four Psalms. We also present the reprise of Friends Eternal, a Cantori commission premiered in March 2025. A long-time member of Cantori's advisory board, Hailstork is a friend and frequent artistic collaborator of the ensemble.

Crispus Attucks tells the story of the first person killed in the American Revolution, a man of African and Native American heritage who was shot by British soldiers during the Boston Massacre in 1770. Some historical sources suggest Attucks had escaped slavery before establishing himself in Boston. He later became an icon of the 19th century abolition movement leading up to the American Civil War, celebrated by anti-slavery activists as an emblem of freedom. Hailstork's oratorio (with libretto by Herbert Martin) richly expands on those historical themes, casting Attucks's character as a symbol of resistance in the face of tyranny. Originally scored for full orchestra, the new premiere features a reorchestration for eight instruments by composer and Cantori member Brian Morales. (Morales previously reorchestrated Vittorio Rieti's The Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne, premiered by Cantori in 2024.) We're thrilled to welcome soloists Lucia Bradford (mezzo-soprano), Gabriel Hernandez (tenor) and Shavon Lloyd (bass) to the stage for this performance.

Friends Eternal, whose world premiere we presented in 2025, was the recipient of a prestigious Chorus Dale Warland Singers Commission award. Written for chorus and three cellos, the piece presents a moving setting of poetry by George Moses Horton, who was enslaved until Union troops carried the Emancipation Proclamation to his North Carolina home in 1865, and who became the first African-American author to be published in the U.S. The remarkable text, written in the aftermath of the American Civil War, explores themes of reconciliation after devastating conflict. Hailstork drew inspiration from his long-standing fascination with the Blue-Gray reunions held between Union and Confederate veterans in the decades following the Civil War.

We round out our program with Four Psalms, a quartet of four unpublished, never-performed settings. Three a cappella, one with saxophone and marimba, the collection exemplifies Hailstork's unique style: spiritual, resilient and full of life.

For more information about the March 13 and 14 concerts at the Church of the Holy Trinity, 316 East 88th Street, please visit www.cantorinewyork.com.

Click here for a conversation between composer Brian Morales and conductor Mark Shapiro on Morales's reorchestration of Hailstork's Crispus Attucks.