Education
He studied composition, electronic music, and trombone at Huddersfield Polytechnic until 1989, graduating with Distinction in 1989. He studied postgraduate composition course at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, studying with Louis Andriessen, and graduating in 1992.
Career
Richard Ayres followed Morton Feldman’s classes at the Darmstadt and Dartington summer schools. Since September 1989, Ayres has lived and worked in the Netherlands. From 1990 Richard Ayres has worked as composer receiving performances from among others the ASKO Ensemble, the Schönberg Ensemble, Ives Ensemble, Orkest de Volharding, Maarten Altena Ensemble, The Netherlands Ballet Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Apartment House, London Sinfonietta, Klangforum Wien, MusikFabrik, Continuum (Canada) as well as writing for ensembles with more unusual instrumentations formed for specific projects.
His piece Number.31 (for trumpet and ensemble) received a recommendation at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Rostrum of Composers in Paris in 1999.
He was Featured Composer at the Huddersfield Festival in 2003 and his music has been heard at the Aldeburgh Festival: his first opera, The Cricket Recovers was premiered there in 2005. lieutenant has since had new productions in Stuttgart, Weimar and Braunschweig.
He is currently writing his second opera, Peter Pan. In the orchestral arena his Number.
37b for orchestra was premiered at the Donaueschingen Musiktage by the SWR Sinfonieorchester Freiburg and Baden-Baden and has since been taken up by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and the British Broadcasting Corporation Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Number. 40 NONcerto for oboe and chamber orchestra was premiered by Baart Schneemann and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra in 2006. 2008 saw the premiere of Number.
42 In the Alps for soprano and ensemble which was premiered and toured throughout the Netherlands by Barbara Hannigan and the Netherlands Wind Ensemble.
He also wrote Number. 43 Glorious, a work for chamber ensemble and film - a collaboration with film-maker Guy Maddin for the SHIFT Festival in Amsterdam and Canada. In January 2004, Ayres was appointed as teacher of composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.
He remained in his position here until 2006 and now teaches at the Amsterdam Conservatoire.