BMI Composer Award-Winner Jackson A. Waters is crafting musical experiences that connect genres, disciplines, and audiences together. As a recipient of the Steinhardt Scholarship at New York University, he studied under Julia Wolfe, Justin Dello Joio, and Shelley Washington. His symphony depicting the Tulsa Race Massacre, Defending Greenwood, has been recognized by multiple institutions, winning him the Emerging Black Composer Project Cabrillo Prize, American Composers Orchestra Earshot Reading, NYU Steinhardt Composers Residency, and more. His other works earned him opportunities including Salastina’s Composer Collective and was named the Grand Prize winner for the New York Youth Symphony’s Jon Deak First Music Competition, commissioning him to write the piano quartet, Migrate, including premieres at Carnegie Hall with the Black and female-led dance studio Emerge125 and Interlochen Center for the Arts. His new orchestra piece, my rage is quiet, earned him the ARTZenter Institute Composer Completion Grant, premiering his work with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players at Herbst Theatre. Through the Emerging Black Composers Project Cabrillo Prize, Jackson is the new composer-in-residence at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, programming Defending Greenwood and commissioning a new orchestral work.

Beyond the concert hall, Jackson has established a dynamic presence in film scoring, composing for genres ranging from psychological thrillers to intense action films, introspective dramas, and lighthearted comedies. In addition to composition, Jackson has worked as an Assistant Sound Editor for Academy Award Nominee Amy Berg’s new documentary, It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley. 

Jackson’s work extends to the fine arts, collaborating with painter Ari Kim on Mae-Deup (매듭), a multi-sensory exhibit exploring In-Yeon (인연), a Korean concept of fate and human connection. Each painting in the exhibit was accompanied by Jackson’s original compositions, accessible via Bluetooth beacons that allowed audiences to experience the music in direct relation to the artwork. His EP, In-Yeon, can be listened from any music streaming service.
 

Jackson is also a conductor and trumpet player, performing with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra and conducting many musical works with the NYU Broadway Orchestra under the direction of Theodore Sperling, including Street Scene, Sweeney Todd, and Jesus Christ Superstar. 

Internationally, Jackson has worked with Beata Hlavenkova and the S.V.A Trio in Prague, recording in historic venues such as the 13th-century St. Nicholas Church. His experimental approach to concert music includes integrating audio sampling and real-time audience interaction through mobile devices, expanding the possibilities of live performance. His time abroad was the start of him releasing music on streaming platforms, including NoMad, Hold Me & Let Go, and Mangondo Postlude.

Jackson founded Live Room Opus Sessions, a recorded and filmed performance series that provides an inclusive space for the audience to sit within the music, immersed in a home-like setting. By breaking away from centuries-old formalities, Opus Sessions showcases artists from different genres collaborating with classical ensembles in intimate venues. Through Opus Sessions, Jackson has arranged, conducted, and recorded music with jazz virtuosi including June Cavlan and Devon Gates along with R&B artists such as Autumn Jones and Isea.