Ryan Ayres is a multi-instrumentalist and composer of television dreams, radio hallucinations, and hypnagogic meditations. Their work has been presented in concert halls, galleries, symphony halls, and even on VHS and cassette tapes. They write everything from jazz to classical to electronic music and everything in between. Whatever the medium, Ayres’ music often deals with themes such as communication, cyclical thought patterns, extramusical connections, memory, sedation, ritual, and the passage of time.
Ayres holds a Master’s degree in Composition from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where they studied with Oscar Bettison. They also hold Bachelor’s degrees in Composition and Music Theory from the University of North Texas, where they studied under composers Joseph Klein, Kirsten Broberg, and Panayiotis Kokoras. They have taken masterclasses from composers Georg Fredrich Haas, Nina C. Young, Elainie Lillios, and Paul Chihara. Their work Nostalgia Machine (2017) for live electronic sampling environment won the 2018 Peabody Institute’s Prix D’Eté. Their recent electronic works have been featured on net music labels such as First Class Collective, Index of Refraction Records, Internet Ventures, and more.
In addition to their concert works, Ayres is actively releasing ambient and plunderphonic music under the handle Kevin.