Austin Jaquith, a native Californian, began studying composition in High School with Jack Perla in Oakland, CA.  In 1999 he enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Margaret Brouwer.  In 2003 he graduated with a Bachelor of Music in composition.  In Cleveland his works were performed by the Biava Quartet, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and the Parma Symphony.  From 2003 to 2005 he attended the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, where he studied with Robert Smith and graduated with a Master of Music in composition.  While at the Moores School he received the Seraphim composition prize, for his String Quartet No. 2, and participated in a Regional SCI conference in San Antonio.  In the fall of 2005, he began doctoral studies at Indiana University where he studied with David Dzubay, Chinary Ung, Richard Wernick, Claude Baker, and P.Q. Phan.  His String Quartet No. 3 won several honors including the IU Jacobs School of Music Kuttner String Quartet Competition in 2006, the AFMC Emil and Ruth Bayer Composition Competition in the chamber music category in 2007, and was also selected to be performed as part of the 2007 Midwest Composers Symposium.  In 2009, his orchestral work Blaze of Autumn received The Deans Prize in Orchestral Composition at Indiana University.  Up on graduation, Dr. Jaquith was hired as an Assistant Professor of Theory and Composition at Cedarville University in Ohio, where he continues to teach and compose.  Recent performances include Shades of Red, performed at the ITG 2010 Conference in Sydney, Australia, Kinesis by the El Paso Youth Symphony Youth Orchestra, Andy Moran Conductor, and Quintet for Brass by the Mirary Brass Quintet on their Southwest tour.  In 2011, Mr. Jaquith was selected to participate in the ACO’s Earshot Readings with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.