#5192, New-Music Ensemble Alarm Will Sound at 25, With Conductor Alan Pierson

Alarm Will Sound is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a series of recordings: there are improbably convincing acoustic arrangements of electronica artists like Aphex Twin and the late SOPHIE, as well as some of the composers who have been part of the band. Alan Pierson joins us on New Sounds to look back at how the band started (playing Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians) and where they are now (playing Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians, in a series of sold-out shows next week at the Park Avenue Armory).  -John Schaefer

Photo of Alarm Will Sound by Thomas Fichter

Conductor Alan Pierson recounts the band’s origins, from playing American minimalist composer Steve Reich’s works to arranging a tune by English Renaissance composer, John Dowland. In the “twenty-five years of great time with Alarm Will Sound,” Pierson describes the band as having a non-traditional orchestral structure; it is, he says, “a band, a collaborative group, a community,” where there is debate and innovation in a “marketplace of ideas.” Indeed, Alarm Will Sound’s own composer-members have written original pieces and arranged music for the group. Listen to music by two members, the multi-instrumentalist Caleb Burhans, and keyboardist John Orfe, from a collection of works called Lift. 

“Making new music together, from blank page to lit stage, through the productive tension of stylistic diversity, has formed our big artistic family for more than a quarter century. And for a lot more time to come, our efforts will continue to lift each other up, and raise the bar of the musically possible.” –Gavin Chuck, Executive Director and founding member of Alarm Will Sound

Then, listen to Alarm Will Sound play glitch-heavy electronic music originally by Aphex Twin, re-imagined and arranged for the band from their landmark 2005 recording, Acoustica. The sequel to that record, an ambitious 2026 album, New Acoustica, translates work by SOPHIE, Jlin, Aphex Twin, and more into large chamber pieces. Hear their takes on SOPHIE's "Faceshopping” and JLIN’s “Black Origami”, which feature vocal hoses going to snare drum underbellies, and helium gas… 

And like the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Alan Pierson says that “Having fun together is crucial to making art together.” The show closes with an unexpected reference-packed musical foray into the Star Trek universe, a gift commissioned for Pierson. Congratulations, Alarm Will Sound! - Caryn Havlik

Program #5192, Alarm Will Sound 25th Anniversary, with Alan Pierson (First aired 10/9/26)

ARTIST: Alarm Will Sound, Alan Pierson, & Ossia
WORK: Steve Reich: Tehillim: I. Psalm 19:12-5 [1:02]
RECORDING: Steve Reich: Tehillim & The Desert Music 
SOURCE: Cantaloupe Music
INFO: https://stevereich.com/new-cd-cantaloupe-tehillim-desert-music/

ARTIST: Alarm Will Sound, cond. Alan Pierson
WORK: Aphex Twin: minipops 67 [4:42]
RECORDING: New Acoustica
SOURCE: Cantaloupe
INFO: cantaloupemusic.com

ARTIST: Alarm Will Sound, cond. Alan Pierson
WORK: Caleb Burhans: Escape Wisconsin (Alarm Remix) [4:01]
RECORDING: Lift
SOURCE: Alarm Will Sound
INFO: https://alarmwillsound.bandcamp.com/album/lift 

ARTIST: Alarm Will Sound, cond. Alan Pierson
WORK: Orfe: Dowland Remix [4:48]
RECORDING: Lift
SOURCE: Alarm Will Sound
INFO: https://alarmwillsound.bandcamp.com/album/lift 

ARTIST: Alarm Will Sound, Karim Sulayman, Alan Pierson
WORK: David T. Little: Part 2: A Grave, VI. Lachrimæ veræ (The Flowing Stream) [4:38]
RECORDING: David T. Little: What Belongs to You
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: https://orcd.co/whatbelongstoyou

ARTIST: Alarm Will Sound, cond. Alan Pierson
WORK: Cock - Ver 10 (arr. Stefan Freund) [1:08]
RECORDING: Acoustica – Alarm Will Sound Performs Aphex Twin
SOURCE: Cantaloupe
INFO: cantaloupemusic.com

ARTIST: Alarm Will Sound, cond. Alan Pierson
WORK: SOPHIE: Faceshopping [4:05]
RECORDING: New Acoustica
SOURCE: Cantaloupe
INFO: cantaloupemusic.com

ARTIST: Alarm Will Sound, cond. Alan Pierson
WORK: JLIN: Black Origami [4:32]
RECORDING: New Acoustica
SOURCE: Cantaloupe
INFO: cantaloupemusic.com

ARTIST: Alarm Will Sound, cond. Alan Pierson
WORK: John Orfe: Make It So [4:55]
RECORDING: Make It So
SOURCE: Alarm Will Sound
INFO: https://alarmwillsound.bandcamp.com/track/make-it-so