Alarm Will Sound is a 20-member band committed to innovative performances and recordings of today’s music. They have established a reputation for performing demanding music with energetic skill. ASCAP recognized their contributions to new music with a 2006 Concert Music Award for “the virtuosity, passion, and commitment with which they perform and champion the repertory for the 21st century.”
The versatility of Alarm Will Sound allows it to take on music from a wide variety of styles. Its repertoire ranges from European to American works, from the arch-modernist to the pop-influenced. The group fosters close relationships with contemporary composers, and has commissioned and premiered pieces by Steve Reich, David Lang, Anthony Gatto, Cenk Ergün, Aaron Jay Kernis, Michael Gordon, Augusta Read Thomas, Stefan Freund, Wolfgang Rihm, Payton MacDonald, Gavin Chuck, and Dennis DeSantis.
Alarm Will Sound can be heard on four recordings. Their genre-bending, critically acclaimed Acoustica features live-performance arrangements of music by electronica guru Aphex Twin. This unique project taps the diverse talents within the group, from the many composers who made arrangements of the original tracks to the experimental approaches developed by the performers. Reich at the Roxy, their latest release, is an award-winning, surround-sound DVD/CD recording of a live concert of music by Steve Reich performed in the famed New York nightclub.
Members of the ensemble began playing together while studying at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. With diverse experience in composition, improvisation, jazz and popular styles, early music, and world musics, they bring intelligence and a sense of adventure to all their performances.
For more information, visit Alarm Will Sound’s website at alarmwillsound.com
ALAN PIERSON
In addition to his work as artistic director of Alarm Will Sound, Alan Pierson has appeared as a guest conductor with the London Sinfonietta, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and The Silk Road Project, among other ensembles. He has collaborated with many major composers and performers including Yo-Yo Ma, Steve Reich, Augusta Read Thomas, David Lang, Michael Gordon, La Monte Young, and Wu Man, and choreographers Akram Khan and Elliot Feld. Mr. Pierson has also received a Tanglewood fellowship. He has recorded for Nonesuch Records, Cantaloupe Music, Sony Classical, and Sweetspot DVD. Born in Chicago, Mr. Pierson began conducting while pursuing a physics degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a composition degree at the Eastman School of Music.
ALARM WILL SOUND
Alan Pierson, Artistic Director and Conductor
Gavin Chuck, Managing Director
Nigel Maister, Staging Director
Kate Sheeran, Personnel Manager
Carrie Turner, Production Manager
Jason Price, Technical Director
Kelli Kathman, Flute
Jacqueline Leclair, Oboe
Bill Kalinkos, Clarinet and Saxophone
Elisabeth Stimpert, Clarinet and Saxophone
Michael Harley, Bassoon and Keyboards
Matthew Marks, Horn
Jason Price, Trumpet
Michael Clayville, Trombone
Payton MacDonald, Percussion
Chris Thompson, Percussion
Jeff Brown, Percussion
John Orfe, Keyboards
Courtney Orlando, Violin
Caleb Burhans, Violin
John Pickford Richards, Viola
Stefan Freund, Cello
Miles Brown, Bass