MartinsvilleBulletin.com: Sphinx Laureate Brendon Elliott Performs Violin Concerto of Adolphus Hailstork with Virginia Symphony in Martinsville, Virginia

Adolphus C. Hailstork (b. 1941)
is featured at AfriClassical.com

Brendon Elliott (Sphinx Organization)

Violin soloist Brendon Elliott (center) performs with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra on Friday night at Martinsville High School. Benjamin Rous is the orchestra’s conductor. The performance was part of the orchestra’s first Virginia tour. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray)

Martinsville Bulletin

Orchestra here on Va. tour 

Sunday, April 27, 2014

By TARA LUCAS - Bulletin Staff Writer

The Virginia Symphony Orchestra made its debut performance in Martinsville on Friday night as part of its first tour of the commonwealth.

The show opened at Martinsville High School with “Overture to Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492.” The fast-paced, whimsical melody drew resounding applause at its finish.

Violinist Brendon Elliott performed a violin concerto, written by composer Adolphus Hailstork, during the first half of the show. Elliott’s performance produced high-pitched trills, trembling low tones and a standing ovation from the audience estimated at about 475 people.

According to a release, Elliott made his debut as a soloist at the age of 10 with the Hampton University Orchestra. Since then, he has been a soloist with several professional and community orchestras.

At the age of 13, he appeared on From the Top on NPR. Among other things, he earned the National Sphinx Competition Achievement Award in 2012 and is a three-time semi-finalist in that competition. Elliott attends the Curtis Institute of Music.

Orchestra conductor Benjamin Rous called Elliott “amazing.”

“Adolphus Hailstork lives in Virginia Beach and Brendon is from Virginia,” Rous said, which was a good way to tie Southwest Virginia into the orchestra’s performance.