Photo by Nicole Parks
BIO
Originally from Baltimore, MD, Aaron Jay Myers is a Boston based composer, guitarist, and educator. He has been commissioned and had music performed by many musicians and ensembles across the United States. As a guitarist, he has performed a variety of music including punk, metal, flamenco, classical, jazz, improv, and more. He is founder of the avant-metal band, Kraanerg. He has been giving private guitar lessons since 2002, and currently teaches at home and at various music schools in the greater Boston Area. He self-released his first album of chamber works …But I’m Doing It Anyway in 2018, has an album titled Clever Machines released by New Focus Recordings in 2021, and a new album titled Late Night Banter released by Neuma Records in 2023. He is a founding member of Equilibrium Ensemble, served as Executive Director from 2015-2018, and served as its Managing Director until its end in 2020. He was Music Director for Second Sunday Concert Series from October of 2017 through December of 2018.
Myers holds BM and MM in Composition degrees from Towson University and The Boston Conservatory. He studied guitar with Maurice Arenas and Troy King. He studied composition with Dave Ballou, William Kleinsasser, Jan Swafford, and Marti Epstein. He has had additional composition studies with Nicholas Vines and Roger Reynolds. For scores, videos, upcoming events, and more, visit aaronjaymyers.com and https://aaronjaymyers.bandcamp.com
ARTIST STATEMENT
For many years I have been photographing cracks, stains, mold, rust, and discoloration on man-made and natural objects. I continue to be humbled and deeply inspired by the raw beauty all around us that is often overlooked or superficially thought of as damaged. For me, this also translates into the world of sound. Sentient existence can be tumultuous but also beautiful, and it is inevitable that music and the arts reflect the struggle, violence, beauty, love, and loss that make up our fleeting lives. I am also intrigued by the occult. Humankind’s obsession with understanding our existence and controlling our surroundings has inspired pantheons of mythological beings, bizarre and macabre folklore, obsessive rituals, and countless belief systems. I sometimes use occult beings or events as inspiration, and I embrace both raw and refined sounds as beautiful equals in my music.