Christopher Wilkins
Music Director, Akron Symphony Orchestra

"Jesse Ayers' The Passion of John Brown is a total knock-out.  On a purely visceral level it is magnificent.  The audience was overwhelmed, and their powerful response has continued unabated.  I keep hearing from people how moved they were by the music, the drama, the pacing, and the haunting 'flashbacks.' 

"Just as remarkable was the reaction of our educational audiences.  At first, I was reluctant to program The Passion of John Brown in its entirety for middle schoolers, unsure whether it could hold their attention for 19 minutes.  But as it turned out, they were perfectly rapt, nobody moved!  They were as quiet as any adult audience.  Teacher surveys have come back to us now - all ten out of ten.  

"Ayers had artfully achieved many things at once:  he has covered a crucial chapter in American history in a clear and memorable way.  He has brought tension and drama to the vexing questions of slavery, abolition, and armed resistance.  And he has added to the history books something only music can: he's given John Brown flesh and blood.  Ayers portrays both the everyday qualities of father, husband, and citizen, and the outsized passions that emboldened Brown in the most extraordinary ways.  We hear in Ayers' piece Brown's authentic voice."