Jesse Ayers is in his 11th year at Malone College, and his 27th year teaching college music theory.  He holds the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Composition from the University of Tennessee and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from the University of Kentucky.

As a composer, Ayers' music has been performed in over 85 U.S. cities, as well as venues in Europe, Japan, South Africa, New Zealand, and Russia, and has twice had his music selected by the International Society of Contemporary Music to represent the United States at the prestigious World Music Days festival (Slovenia 2003 and Warsaw 1992).

His more important works explore the interaction between the spiritual and natural worlds and the redemptive intervention of God in the affairs of the human race. Ayers' works engage his listeners, transforming them from spectators into participants.  Conductor Dr. Richard Fischer of Chicago has said, "Ayers' JERICHO is the most imaginative, unusual and successful work I have ever performed in 33 years of conducting."

Dr. Ayers has received the Malone College's Distinguished Faculty Award, 15 awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), and grants from Meet the Composer, the American Music Center, and the Ohio Arts Council.