Jesse Ayers worked on a piece for vocalist and wind orchestra about Rahab, the harlot of Jericho when in residence in 2010. He was the winner of the inaugural American Prize for Orchestral Composition in 2011, and was named an "Honored Artist" of the American Prize in 2014.
Much of his music is scored for large "surround-sound" forces and explores the redemptive intersection of the spiritual and natural worlds.
Recent honors include being named the 2019 Ohio Music Teachers Association Composer of the Year, First Prize in the 2016 Opera Kansas Zepick Modern Opera Composition Competition, a 2014 Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Excellence Award, the 2013 Boston Metro Opera Concert Award, co-winner of the 2011 Dayton Ballet “New Music for New Dance" competition, and seven "Finalist" awards from the American Prize since 2013.
Recent commissions include those from the Akron Symphony, Soprani Compagni, the Indiana Bandmasters Association, the Ohio Private Colleges Instrumental Conductors Association, the Wisconsin Lutheran National Honors Band, and Milligan College.
Ayers has served on the music faculty of Malone University since 1997.
