Esther Margaret Ayers

Four Blue Eggs - Esther Margaret Ayers

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Esther Margaret Ayers lives and works in Marquette, Michigan as a writer, piano teacher and accompanist. She studied at the Yeats International Summer School in Sligo, Ireland, and holds a BME in music and an MA in English, both from Northern Michigan University. In recent years she has written the librettos for two large choral/orchestral works commissioned and premiered by the Marquette Symphony Orchestra: A Child’s Requiem by composer Thomas LaVoy (2013) and Bagidaabii-Neyaashi by composer Griffin Candey (2016). Her poem “White Stones” is the text of a choral piece by LaVoy which has been performed at Carnegie Hall and recorded by the Philadelphia-based professional choir The Same Stream. Other poems by Ayers have appeared in various publications, including Passages North. She and her husband, Dan Barrington, are the parents of five grown sons. Contact Esther at estherbarrington@gmail.com

Charlie LaVoy grew up in Marquette, Michigan, then set out for film school at the University of New Orleans in 2004. Upon graduating from UNO in 2008 he spent a decade having strange and sweaty adventures in the media industry of South Louisiana, with occasional forays to places like New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta. He has worked nearly every job that exists in independent film production, eventually settling into his craft as an animator and illustrator. Despite a deep love affair with New Orleans, he could not shake the desire to live closer to family and Lake Superior, so he moved back home to work remotely. He currently lives in Marquette where he continues to service his Louisiana-based clientele and plans to expand his business into the U.P.