Jacqueline Hairston
Jacqueline Hairston – a cousin of the late composer and conductor Jester Hairston – is a pianist and composer who lives in Oakland, California. She has a special affinity for the spirituals and has written solo arrangements of spirituals for such noted artists as Leontyne Price, Kathleen Battle, Jubilant Sykes, Robert Sims, Ben Matthews, Grace Bumbry and William Warfield. In an interview at her home in Oakland, Ms. Hairston commented on a wide range of subjects. The excerpt here includes Hairston’s story of how she first made a connection with concert and opera diva Kathleen Battle, who has since performed a number of Hairston’s arrangements of spirituals on concert stages around the world.
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This was the final night so I called before going and I said I wanted to get -- how did I put it, I’m trying to think -- I wanted to get a message to Kathleen Battle’s manager that Jackie Hairston who sent spirituals opening night would want to speak with her backstage afterwards -- some message to that regard. Anyway, you know when you’re told well, we’ll see that they get the message. I had no assurance. So, I went to the concert and I mean I was on pins and needles -- I could hardly enjoy the opera for thinking -- well suppose she wont’ see me -- well suppose her manager didn’t get the message -- well, suppose I mean all this was going through and it was like a voice said, now just calm down -- just calm down and just go back stage you know and things will be fine. So, I go back stage and I ask for the manager and sure enough my name is on this list. I said, ooooh, okay, all right. I’ve gotten this far. Then, as I went on back stage and there were -- we were taken to the Green Room -- there were maybe 6 people in there -- 6 people. Well, there was a couple there and they were finely dressed. The man had on tails and the woman had on evening wear and she said, now who are you? I said why, I’m Jackie Hairston and I’m a composer. She said, we are and she introduced themselves. She said we follow her everywhere we go. She said, she was just in Chicago and we were there and she’s here in California we were here and we hear she’s gonna be thus and such place and we’re gonna go there. I said, well, that’s remarkable. And so, anyway, to make a long story short, Kathleen Battles came out and she was shaking hands and greeting them and I saw her and she was like she kept eyeing me -- ‘cuz I was alone -- everybody else was kind of coupled off. And so, then she came over and she came over to me and I said I’m Jackie Hairston. Uh, she embraced me. She said, oh, I’m so glad you came. She said, can you wait a few minutes because I want to take you to my dressing room -- can you wait a few minutes? I said, I certainly will. And so, she went, she said listen, there’s a lady here I must speak with thank you so much for coming. I’ll see you at the next concert. Thank you, I’ve got to talk with this lady. So, she excused all the others and then she asked me to go with her to her dressing room. I followed her to her dressing room and she said I want you to meet my family. Well, I was bowled over. She said this is my sister and my sister’s husband and my other sister and a nephew and she introduced me and she said I want all of you to meet a wonderful composer. Well, I nearly fainted at this time because I thought she’s only seen the spirituals you know and so she saw that I had an envelope and she said you’ve got something else for me? And I was lighting up like a child and said well yes, I said I was told -- I didn’t tell her the voice -- I said I was told to bring you -- that’s it -- the other part that the voice said to go now take her something new -- that’s the other thing I was told. And then, and I thought but I only have a day to prepare -- take just start writing anything -- just do 8 bars of something. And it was like -- then I thought this was August -- this was the concert at the end of the season -- and I knew Christmas was coming up and I had heard from somebody that she loved Christmas -- Christmas music. So it was like I was told okay just do 8 bars of any Christmas something. So once again I’m -- I went through -- I had her records and I went through some other things and I said let me see -- maybe what she does not have.
So I thought -- once again I thought of some choral things that had not been done for the solo voice. I remembered “Round the Glory Manger”, Willis James arranged a choral that hadn’t been done as a solo arrangement. And then I thought of “Wasn’t That A Mighty Day”, which I had not seen as a solo arrangement. So I did those two. And I did maybe 8 bars of each and so I -- so she said don’t tell me -- she said I love your work. She said, now don’t tell me you have something else in this envelope. I said yes. I said I didn’t get a chance to finish but I said I wanted you to get an idea of my arranging style. I said now, these are two spirituals. Two Christmas. She said, Christmas!!! And I said yes. So, she looked at her sister and she said, right on time. I said so I didn’t catch it -- you know she said right. So she took out the songs and she started humming. She said “Wasn’t That a Mighty Day”, she where did you get this? And I said, well this really was a choral arrangement you know. She said, I’ve never heard it. She said, oh, it’s lovely. And she said -- and so she looked at the other one. Well, where’d you get this one? I said it also was a choral arrangement, you know. But it’s a solo arrangement. So, she said, oh, these are wonderful. She said now is your card in here? I said my card is there. She said, well, I will be in touch. So, I left there walking on cloud nine.
So, in October -- that was August -- in September I heard nothing. Then I got worried. I went through this well maybe she didn’t mean it. Well, maybe this was not -- I just -- I was tripping as the kids say -- I was just -- and then just like I said now, just stay calm, you know. She could be on tour. And it was like the voice said to me again -- call the manager’s office. I knew she was under the management of Columbia Artists. Call the manager and find out if she might be on tour someplace. Well, when I call and I identified myself the manager said, Oh, Mrs. Hairston, I am so glad you called. Kathleen is in Europe but she told me to call you and I just hadn’t gotten around to it. She wants you to finish the arrangements ‘cause she wants to premiere them at her Carnegie Hall recital at Christmas.