Dance of the Mountain Raindrops

TWO VERSIONS: 1: pno & strings / 2: fl-clar-bsn-marim-pno-strings
Broadcast numerous times on RTS (national TV-Serbia)
8 minutes.  Eclectic mix of jazz and traditional writing.
Score $25   Parts rental    ORDER/QUESTION

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Click to hear excerpt 1, Dubravka Jovicic, piano

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Click to hear excerpt 2, Dubravka Jovicic, piano

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Click to hear complete work, Dubravka Jovicic, piano

Composer's notes

The title refers to a gentle, warm, summer rain falling over the lush vegetation of the Great Smoky Mountains in Eastern Tennessee, wilderness in which the composer has spent many hours and hiked many miles. Raindrops seem to dance as they splash off moss covered logs and drip from the leaves of dense rhododendron. Stylistically, the piece traverses several styles, including minimalism, traditional writing, and jazz.

March 24, 25, 26, 27, 2011, Dayton, OH

photo of balletMountain River Escapades
The Dayton Ballet
Susanne Payne, choreographer
Victoria Theater, Schuster Center
Thursday, March 24   8:00 p.m.
Friday, March 25        8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 26    3:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 27      3:00 p.m.

Jesse will be present at the Friday & Saturday performances

Ayers' "Escapades" wins Dayton Ballet "New Music for New Dance"

photo of Dayton Ballet Jesse Ayers' has been named one of the three winners nationwide of the Dayton Ballet's New Music for New Dance.  The program matches three composers with three choreographers culminating in a series of world premiere ballet performances.  His winning work, Mountain River Escapades, was selected by jury from a national call for scores.  Ayers work will be choreographed by Susanne Payne and presented in five performances March 24-27.  Click here for concert time details.
Click here for article in the Dayton Daily News.

Ayers' DANCE OF THE MOUNTAIN RAINDROPS televised on European TV

photo of Smoky Mountains

November 2-3, 2008. For the second time this year, Jesse Ayers' Dance of the Mountain Raindrops for piano and string orchestra has aired on Serbia's national television-radio network, RTS.  On Sunday night, a portion of the work was televised as part of an RTS retrospective celebrating the highlights of its past 50 years of broadcasting. The entire work was broadcast again on Monday night on RTS radio.  RTS broadcast the same work in full on television and radio in March.

The performance featured concert pianist Dubravka Jovicic, Ph.D., of Belgrade, Serbia, and the RTS Symphony Orchestra.  Jovicic and the orchestra recorded Ayers' work in 1992 when it was selected for a the inaugural broadcast of a then new RTS-TV series World Premiere, a weekly program dedicated to premiering new concert works by living composers.