Alarm Will Sound
Tyshawn Sorey & Alarm Will Sound - Video Chat Variations Episode 2 (Autoschediasms)
updated
www.alarmwillsound.com
www.facebook.com/AlarmWillSound
Composed by Aphex Twin
Arranged by Jessica Johnson and Payton MacDonald
Performed and recorded in the Sinquefield Music Center at the University of Missouri.
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Patti Kilroy, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot and edited by Four/Ten
Special thanks to Keve Wilson (oboe/English horn), Megan Arns (percussion), Curtis Stewart (violin), and Monica Davis (viola) for their contributions to the audio. Special thanks to Priscilla Rinehart (horn), Lauren Cauley (violin), and Justin Caulley (viola) for their contributions to this video.
Performed by Alarm Will Sound (alarmwillsound.com)
Live at the 2023 Mizzou International Composers Festival, July 27, 2023 http://composersfestival.missouri.edu
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Patti Kilroy, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot by Mizzou New Music
Special thanks to Priscilla Rinehart (horn), Lauren Cauley (violin), and Justin Caulley (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
Revolution 9 is available on Alarm Will Sound Presents Modernists (Cantaloupe Music) at alarmwillsound.bandcamp.com/album/alarm-will-sound-presents-modernists
www.alarmwillsound.com
www.facebook.com/AlarmWillSound
Composed by The Beatles
Arranged by Matt Marks
www.alarmwillsound.com
www.facebook.com/AlarmWillSound
Composed by Aphex Twin
Arranged by Ken Thomson
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Patti Kilroy, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot by Mizzou New Music
Special thanks to Priscilla Rinehart (horn), Lauren Cauley (violin), and Justin Caulley (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
www.alarmwillsound.com
www.facebook.com/AlarmWillSound
Composed by Aphex Twin
Arranged by Stefan Freund
Performed by Alarm Will Sound (http://alarmwillsound.com)
Live at the 2022 Mizzou International Composers Festival, July 30, 2022 http://composersfestival.missouri.edu
It’s incredibly frustrating that being your most genuine self
Or becoming who you want to be
Is so often incompatible with what you find comfortable
I’m terrified of heights, but I love flying
Every time I ascend, I think
“is this worth it if we crash, was this worth it”
I never find the answer, and it never gets easier
But I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try again
Each time, not trying again becomes less of an option
— Cassie Wieland
Cassie Wieland, vocals
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot by Jason Thorpe Buchanan and Mizzou New Music and edited by Michael Clayville
Special thanks to Madison Greenstone (clarinet), Nicolee Kuester (horn), Yvonne Lam (violin), and Gillian Gallagher (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
Composer JG Thirlwell (Venture Bros, Foetus, Silver Mantis, etc.) discusses his work with Alarm Will Sound.
Performed and recorded in the Sinquefield Music Center at the University of Missouri.
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot and edited by Four/Ten Media
Special thanks to Keve Wilson (oboe), Curtis Stewart (violin), and Monica Davis (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
Performed by Alarm Will Sound (http://alarmwillsound.com)
Live at the 2022 Mizzou International Composers Festival, July 30, 2022 http://composersfestival.missouri.edu
Performers
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot by Jason Thorpe Buchanan and Mizzou New Music and edited by Michael Clayville
Special thanks to Madison Greenstone (clarinet), Nicolee Kuester (horn), Yvonne Lam (violin), and Gillian Gallagher (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
Alarm Will Sound, “One of the most vital and original ensembles on the American music scene” (The New York Times), returns to the Mizzou International Composers Festival. For the finale of the 2023 Festival, AWS will perform eight world premieres by the festival's resident composers:
Santiago Beis (Columbia, MO) - santiagobeis.com
Chen Yihan (Princeton, NJ) - yihanmusic.com
Peter Fahey (Dublin, Ireland) - peterfahey.com
Sophie Mathieu (Austin, TX) - sophiemathieumusic.com
Ali Can Puskulcu (Waltham, MA) - http://alicanpuskulcu.com
Kelley Sheehan (Cambridge, MA) - kelleysheehan.com
Trevor Van de Velde (New York, NY) - trevorvandevelde.com
Max Vinetz (Princeton, NJ) - maxvinetz.com
-----------------------------------------
This event is part of the Mizzou International Composers Festival which takes place each July at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO and features public concerts, presentations, workshops, and more. The festival features Alarm Will Sound as resident ensemble as well as two distinguished guest composers, the festival selects eight resident composers each year through an application process to compose new works that will be premiered by Alarm Will Sound at the festival. During the week, resident composers will rehearse closely with the ensemble, give public presentations on their work, and receive private lessons with the guest composers.
http://composersfestival.missouri.edu
----------------------------------------
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. The New York Times says that Alarm Will Sound is “one of the most vital and original ensembles on the American music scene.”With classical skill and unlimited curiosity, Alarm Will Sound takes 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 itself includes many composer-performers, which allows for an unusual degree of insight into the creation and performance of new work.
Alarm Will Sound is the resident ensemble at the Mizzou International Composers Festival. Held each July at the University of Missouri in Columbia, the festival features eight world premieres by early-career composers.
Alarm Will Sound may be heard on eighteen recordings, including For George Lewis | Autoshchediasms, their most recent release featuring music of Tyshawn Sorey. Their genre-bending, critically acclaimed Acoustica features live-performance arrangements of music by electronica guru Aphex Twin.
In 2016, Alarm Will Sound in a co-production with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, presented the world premiere of the staged version of Donnacha Dennehy’s The Hunger at the BAM Next Wave Festival and the Touhill Performing Arts Center.
In 2013-14, Alarm Will Sound served as artists-in-residence at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. During that season, the ensemble presented four large ensemble performances at the Met, including two site-specific productions staged in museum galleries (Twinned, a collaboration with Dance Heginbotham and I Was Here I Was I, a new theatrical work by Kate Soper and Nigel Maister).
In 2011, at Carnegie Hall, the group presented 1969, a multimedia event that uses music, images, text, and staging to tell the compelling story of great musicians—John Lennon, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Paul McCartney, Luciano Berio, Yoko Ono, and Leonard Bernstein—striving for a new music and a new world amidst the turmoil of the late 1960s.
Alarm Will Sound has been presented by Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, (le) Poisson Rouge, Miller Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Kitchen, the Bang on a Can Marathon, Disney Hall, Kimmel Center, Library of Congress, the Walker Arts Center, Cal Performances, Stanford Lively Arts, Duke Performances, and the Warhol Museum. International tours include the Holland Festival, Sacrum Profanum, Moscow’s Art November, St. Petersburg’s Pro Arte Festival, and the Barbican.
The members of the ensemble have also demonstrated our commitment to education through residency performances and activities at the Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Princeton University, New York University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
For more information and to join the mailing list, visit Alarm Will Sound’s website at www.alarmwillsound.com
Alarm Will Sound, “One of the most vital and original ensembles on the American music scene” (The New York Times), returns to the Mizzou International Composers Festival. For the opening concert of the 2023 Festival, AWS will perform music by the festival guest composers Tania León and Marcos Balter, as well as works by Claude Baker, John Orfe, and Texu Kim.
-----------------------------------------
This event is part of the Mizzou International Composers Festival which takes place each July at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO and features public concerts, presentations, workshops, and more. The festival features Alarm Will Sound as resident ensemble as well as two distinguished guest composers, the festival selects eight resident composers each year through an application process to compose new works that will be premiered by Alarm Will Sound at the festival. During the week, resident composers will rehearse closely with the ensemble, give public presentations on their work, and receive private lessons with the guest composers.
http://composersfestival.missouri.edu
----------------------------------------
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. The New York Times says that Alarm Will Sound is “one of the most vital and original ensembles on the American music scene.”
With classical skill and unlimited curiosity, Alarm Will Sound takes 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 itself includes many composer-performers, which allows for an unusual degree of insight into the creation and performance of new work.
Alarm Will Sound is the resident ensemble at the Mizzou International Composers Festival. Held each July at the University of Missouri in Columbia, the festival features eight world premieres by early-career composers.
Alarm Will Sound may be heard on eighteen recordings, including For George Lewis | Autoshchediasms, their most recent release featuring music of Tyshawn Sorey. Their genre-bending, critically acclaimed Acoustica features live-performance arrangements of music by electronica guru Aphex Twin.
In 2016, Alarm Will Sound in a co-production with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, presented the world premiere of the staged version of Donnacha Dennehy’s The Hunger at the BAM Next Wave Festival and the Touhill Performing Arts Center.
In 2013-14, Alarm Will Sound served as artists-in-residence at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. During that season, the ensemble presented four large ensemble performances at the Met, including two site-specific productions staged in museum galleries (Twinned, a collaboration with Dance Heginbotham and I Was Here I Was I, a new theatrical work by Kate Soper and Nigel Maister).
In 2011, at Carnegie Hall, the group presented 1969, a multimedia event that uses music, images, text, and staging to tell the compelling story of great musicians—John Lennon, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Paul McCartney, Luciano Berio, Yoko Ono, and Leonard Bernstein—striving for a new music and a new world amidst the turmoil of the late 1960s.
Alarm Will Sound has been presented by Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, (le) Poisson Rouge, Miller Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Kitchen, the Bang on a Can Marathon, Disney Hall, Kimmel Center, Library of Congress, the Walker Arts Center, Cal Performances, Stanford Lively Arts, Duke Performances, and the Warhol Museum. International tours include the Holland Festival, Sacrum Profanum, Moscow’s Art November, St. Petersburg’s Pro Arte Festival, and the Barbican.
The members of the ensemble have also demonstrated our commitment to education through residency performances and activities at the Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Princeton University, New York University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
For more information and to join the mailing list, visit Alarm Will Sound’s website at www.alarmwillsound.com
http://composersfestival.missouri.edu
http://alarmwillsound.com
Thanks to Fridman Gallery, Juan Betancurth, the Goethe-Institut Bogotá, Synthesis Gallery and Matthew D. Gantt, The Wrong Biennial, ISCP, and CT::SWaM for presenting the work as an installation.
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
ambient recordings by Chris P. Thompson, Alan Pierson, Nigel Maister, Daniel Neumann, Christa Robinson, Bill Kalinkos, Michael Harley, Tim Leopold
video editing:
Carlton D. Bright
Michael Clayville
Adapted from the novel by Garth Greenwell
Recorded in 2022 at Washington University in St. Louis
David T. Little (composer / librettist) is “one of the most imaginative young composers” on the scene (The New Yorker), with “a knack for overturning musical conventions” (The New York Times). His operas JFK, Dog Days, and Vinkensport (librettos by Royce Vavrek), and Soldier Songs have been widely acclaimed and performed around the globe, “prov[ing] beyond any doubt that opera has both a relevant present and a bright future” (New York Times).
A 2022 GRAMMY®-nominee, Little has been commissioned by the world’s most prestigious institutions and performers, including recent projects for The Metropolitan Opera / Lincoln Center Theater new works program, The Kennedy Center, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, London Sinfonietta, Alarm Will Sound, ICE, The Crossing, Eighth Blackbird, Kronos Quartet, and Beth Morrison Projects. His music has been presented by the Park Avenue Armory, Holland Festival, Carnegie Hall, BAM Next Wave, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, LA Opera, Opéra de Montréal, and LA Philharmonic.
Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman (soloist) has garnered international attention as a sophisticated and versatile artist, consistently praised for his sensitive and intelligent musicianship, riveting stage presence, and beautiful voice. A 2019 GRAMMY® Award winner, he regularly performs on the world’s stages in orchestral concerts and opera, as well as in recital and chamber music. His growing discography includes his debut solo album, Songs of Orpheus, which was released to international acclaim on the AVIE label. Named “Critic’s Choice” by Opera News, and praised for his “lucid, velvety tenor and pop-star charisma” by BBC Music Magazine, Karim was honored with the 2019 GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. He also appears on the ARTE documentary Leonard Bernstein - A Genius Divided, and his performance of Bernstein’s Mass with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is slated for national televised broadcast in 2020.
Garth Greenwell is the author of "What Belongs to You," which won the British Book Award for Debut of the Year, was longlisted for the National Book Award, and was a finalist for six other awards, including the PEN/Faulkner Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His second book of fiction, "Cleanness," was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and was longlisted for several other awards, including the Prix Sade. A New York Times Notable Book, it was named a Best Book of 2020 by more than thirty publications. Greenwell’s fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and A Public Space, and he has written criticism for The New Yorker, Harper’s, and the London Review of Books, among others. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. A 2020 Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of the 2021 Vursell Award for prose style from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he lives in Iowa City.
Acknowledgements
Commissioning funds for "What Belongs to You" generously provided by the Claytor Family Charitable Foundation and Andrew Martin-Weber.
Alarm Will Sound gratefully acknowledges our individual donors and the following foundations for their support: Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Amphion Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, BMI Foundation, Cheswatyr Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.
Additional Support provided by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Special thanks to Andrew Nogal (oboe), Katherine Jordan (horn), Hajnal Pivnick (violin), Jessica Meyer (viola), Eli Lara (cello), and Greg Chudzik (bass) for their contributions to this performance.
Video shot and edited by Mooshido Films.
Gulli Björnsson, composer
Stefan Freund, cello
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot and edited by Four/Ten Media
Special thanks to Mariam Adam (clarinets), Maya Stone (bassoon), Adedeji Ogunfolu (horn), Lauren Cauley (violin), and Beth Myers (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
alyssapyper.bandcamp.com/album/cradle
Alyssa Pyper discusses her work with Alarm Will Sound.
Notes from the composer:
I am a lesbian, gender-nonconforming woman of Mormon descent. I come from a people who wish I did not exist. I was raised in a culture that kept me hidden from myself.
I wrote Cradle while still living in Utah as a way to hold myself when no one else would. I wrote this music in response to breaches of nurture, by way of blood and betrayal.
This music comes from my body; originally written using voice, violin, and loop pedal, it has now found a home with the thoughtful, resonant musicians of Alarm Will Sound. I am grateful for the container they hold - I no longer having to hold myself alone.
Immense thanks to Alan Pierson for holding me and this work with tender care and vision.
Gratitude to inti figgis-vizueta for brainstorming with me + mentoring on notations.
Acknowledgements:
"Cradle" is supported by the Matt Marks Impact Fund, a fund created by Alarm Will Sound in memory of AWS founding member, Matt Marks, to commission and develop new works by underrepresented composers and for unconventional practices.
Alarm Will Sound gratefully acknowledges our individual donors and the following foundations for their support: Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Amphion Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, BMI Foundation, Cheswatyr Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, New Music USA’s Organizational Development Fund in 2022-23, Mellon Foundation, and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.
Additional Support provided by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
PERSONNEL
Erin Lesser, flutes
Christa Robinson, oboe and English horn
Bill Kalinkos, clarinets
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinets
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Nigel Maister, Staging Director
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Uday Singh, Program Coordinator
Shot and edited by Four/Ten Media
Special thanks to Curtis Stewart (violin), Matt Albert (viola), Titi Ayangade (cello), and Adam Booker (bass) for their contributions to the video.
Sponsored by the Mizzou New Music Initiative with funding from the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.
Notes from the composer:
In order to appropriately describe this piece, the two nouns in "Test of Time" should be plural. Not only are there all kinds of tests, but there is also a variety of ways of perceiving time that are challenged in the course of the piece. How long can rhythmic groove retain its momentum against interruptions and juxtapositions? How do beats and syncopations change their syntax when shifted or superimposed? How can microsecond subdivisions of a beat be reconfigured into unpredictable patterns that can still be felt as rhythmically tight? When musical events are frozen and cut-and-pasted out of context, are they perceived as existing independently in their own non-directional time-world? Can the four-phrase tune of the solo tuba prologue pass the test of time and be recognized when it reappears ten minutes later? Can the metrical implications of this tune still be appreciated when it played by the brass in a free-sounding rhythm superimposed over a driving 9/16 torrent in the rest of the ensemble? When — at the end of the piece (spoiler alert!) — the tune is played by solo flute over a tapestry of bells, will the listener recognize on some intuitive level that the notes of each phrase are played backwards although the ordering of the phrases is forward?
I have for a long time considered the one-on-a-part (two violins) chamber sinfonietta to be nature's perfect musical ensemble. No other ensemble could provide at the same time the timbral variety and turn-on-a-dime agility needed to execute a piece like "Test of Time." I've included tuba and alto saxophone, instruments too often neglected in this medium. I have also avoided using standard percussion instruments, replacing bass drum and tom-toms with log drums, the surdo (Brazilian carnival drum), and the cajon (Afro-Peruvian wood box drum), and writing for almglocken (tuned cowbells) and singing bowls in place of marimba and vibraphone.
From the beginning of the tuba prologue to the final wa-wa decay of the spring drum, around fifteen minutes will have expired in the outside world. I hope that those of us inside "Test of Time" will have experienced a universe of time dimensions totally apart from that.
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Special thanks to Nicolee Kuester (horn), Theo Learnard (tuba), Alexandros Fragiskatos (percussion), Yvonne Lam (violin), and Gillian Gallagher (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
Justin Wright, composer
Charlotte Mundy, soprano
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot and edited by Four/Ten Media
Special thanks to Mariam Adam (clarinets), Maya Stone (bassoon), Adedeji Ogunfolu (horn), Lauren Cauley (violin), and Beth Myers (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
Soo Yeon Lyuh, composer and haegeum
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot and edited by Four/Ten Media
Special thanks to Mariam Adam (clarinets), Maya Stone (bassoon), Adedeji Ogunfolu (horn), Lauren Cauley (violin), and Beth Myers (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
Max Vinetz, composer
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot and edited by Four/Ten Media
Special thanks to Mariam Adam (clarinets), Maya Stone (bassoon), Adedeji Ogunfolu (horn), Lauren Cauley (violin), and Beth Myers (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
Elijah Daniel Smith, composer
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot and edited by Four/Ten Media
Special thanks to Mariam Adam (clarinets), Maya Stone (bassoon), Adedeji Ogunfolu (horn), Lauren Cauley (violin), and Beth Myers (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
Hope Littwin, composer, voice, guitar
Lyrics:
First bite of this tangerine is for you
knives out, tell me the things I do
That make me difficult to witness
like overthink, under communicate
But I want to be a safer space
For both of us the bloom
I want to see you bloom
On the highest peak, waiting for ya
I adore ya
Held and free
How love can be
If I’m lost, find me, look for the kiss I blew
Knives out, tell me now what is true
You know wisdom begins in wonder
I made a plate of me and left it out for you
I cringe at most of the things I do
But you are safe with me, I believe in
Held and free
How love can be
I wish you could just tell the world to go to hell
so you can be just who you are
Cause my phone is full of
videos of you being a star
You’re a Hidden treasure
You’re a hidden treasure
You said Solzhenitsyn said it best
But I think you said it better
Oh lover, my beloved
Your problem is my own
I made a place for saying grace
Cause one day this will all be gone
Beware, there’s a lot of stairs to nowhere
Held and free
How love can be
I wish we would just tell the world to go to hell
so we can be just who we are
my phone is full of
videos of us being a stars
we’re hidden treasures
we’re a hidden treasures
You said Solzhenitsyn said it best
But I think we say it better
We’re all walking each other home
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Shot and edited by Four/Ten Media
Special thanks to Mariam Adam (clarinets), Maya Stone (bassoon), Adedeji Ogunfolu (horn), Lauren Cauley (violin), and Beth Myers (viola) for their contributions to this performance.
Learn more about "Cradle" here: youtu.be/AM00D_-alCc
Notes from the composer:
I am a lesbian, gender-nonconforming woman of Mormon descent. I come from a people who wish I did not exist. I was raised in a culture that kept me hidden from myself.
I wrote Cradle while still living in Utah as a way to hold myself when no one else would. I wrote this music in response to breaches of nurture, by way of blood and betrayal.
This music comes from my body; originally written using voice, violin, and loop pedal, it has now found a home with the thoughtful, resonant musicians of Alarm Will Sound. I am grateful for the container they hold - I no longer having to hold myself alone.
Immense thanks to Alan Pierson for holding me and this work with tender care and vision.
Gratitude to inti figgis-vizueta for brainstorming with me + mentoring on notations.
CRADLE Text:
Cradle
Cradle
In your light
I’m in your light
The only like I’ve known
Cradle
Cradle
Second life
A second life unknown
Bathe me
Bathe me
In your light
Hold me
Hold me
In your mind
In your
In your mind
I see you in a crowded room
I can taste your withered bloom
Bathe me
Bathe me
In your mind
Hold me
Hold me
In your light
There’s a window inside my mind
Keeps me turning, turning inside
Close my curtain, safe from outside
I have nothing, nothing to hide
Like a promise I can’t keep
Wellspring dried beneath your feet
Lifeless daughter hear your own
Feel your thoughts your shaking home
Like a shadow at my side
Dryness pulls me out of mind
Lifeless daughter hear me cry!
I am asking for my life!
(You’re afraid, and you cry
The salt still crusting you inside)
Acknowledgements:
"Cradle" is supported by the Matt Marks Impact Fund, a fund created by Alarm Will Sound in memory of AWS founding member, Matt Marks, to commission and develop new works by underrepresented composers and for unconventional practices.
Alarm Will Sound gratefully acknowledges our individual donors and the following foundations for their support: Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Amphion Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, BMI Foundation, Cheswatyr Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, New Music USA’s Organizational Development Fund in 2022-23, Mellon Foundation, and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.
Additional Support provided by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
PERSONNEL
Erin Lesser, flutes
Christa Robinson, oboe and English horn
Bill Kalinkos, clarinets
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinets
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
Chris P. Thompson, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Audio Engineer
Nigel Maister, Staging Director
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Annie Toth, General Manager
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Uday Singh, Program Coordinator
Shot and edited by Four/Ten Media
Special thanks to Curtis Stewart (violin), Matt Albert (viola), Titi Ayangade (cello), and Adam Booker (bass) for their contributions to the video.
"For George Lewis" is available from Cantaloupe Music.
alarmwillsound.bandcamp.com/album/for-george-lewis-autoschediasms
Alan Pierson, Alarm Will Sound's Artistic Director, explores Tyshawn Sorey's "For George Lewis."
Alarm Will Sound:
Erin Lesser, alto flute and flute
Christa Robinson, English horn
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Tim Leopold, flugelhorn
Michael Clayville, trombone
Laura Weiner, horn
Chris Thompson, percussion
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, Sound Engineer
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Gavin Chuck, Executive Director
Annie Toth, Managing Director
Jason Varvaro, Production Manager
Michael Clayville, Director of Marketing
Peter Ferry, Assistant Director of Artistic Planning
Bill Kalinkos, Librarian
Tracy Mendez, Development Manager
Shot and edited by Four/Ten Media
Special thanks to Philip Payton (violin), Chris Otto (violin), Dana Kelley (viola), and Ashley Bathgate (cello) for their contributions to the video.
Special thank you to Lauren Melnikow and Paul Melnikow for their wisdom and advice in telling this story.
07:37 "Artificial" - Daniel Wohl
22:35 "Execution: 1. Retribution" - JG Thirlwell
39:38 "Execution: 2. Evolution" - JG Thirlwell
46:46 "Execution: 3. Involution" - JG Thirlwell
53:25 "Execution: 4. Devolution" - JG Thirlwell
1:08:14 "Hanabi" - Chris P. Thompson/arr. Miles Brown
The University of Missouri presents Alarm Will Sound in a concert featuring world premieres of music by JG Thirlwell, Daniel Wohl, and Chris P. Thompson, and "Back Against the Wall" by Jlin.
shuyingli.com/.com
Performed by Alarm Will Sound
http://alarmwillsound.com
Live at the 2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival, July 29, 2021
http://composersfestival.missouri.edu
Note from the composer:
"Sweeping and Weeping" was written in April 2020, when the pandemic hit and everything was canceled, postponed, or shut down. In an effort to find something positive, I initially thought of “sweeping” as a representation of the virus storm that took over our lives in the most unexpected ways. “Weeping” represents my reaction to the devastating loss that so many experienced. Like most of my pieces, "Sweeping and Weeping" began from these initial impressions, but the music itself navigated a way out with its own logic. The work explores rhythmic drive, lyrical tension, and release, with different timbres and colors. The music alternates between fast and slow passages that ultimately mingle into one.
Alarm Will Sound:
Alan Pierson, conductor and Artistic Director
Erin Lesser, flute
Christa Robinson, oboe
Bill Kalinkos, clarinet
Elisabeth Stimpert, clarinet
Michael Harley, bassoon
Laura Weiner, horn
Tim Leopold, trumpet
Michael Clayville, trombone
Matt Smallcomb, percussion
Chris Thompson, percussion
John Orfe, piano
Courtney Orlando, violin
Stefan Freund, cello
Miles Brown, bass
Daniel Neumann, audio engineering
Executive Director, Gavin Chuck
General Manager, Annie Toth
Production Manager, Jason Varvaro
Assistant Director of Artistic Planning, Peter Ferry
Librarian, Chihiro Shibayama
Special thanks to Kyle Lombard (violin), Ayane Kosaza (viola), Eli Lara (cello), Lawrence Faucett (percussion), Gina Cuffari (bassoon), and Amanda Collins (horn).