Alarm Will Sound

Did You Know?

• Alarm Will Sound's first concert on May 24, 2001, featured Steve Reich's Tehillim and The Desert Music, performed with Ossia.
• In 2010, they collaborated with Dirty Projectors to turn Dave Longstreth's computer-based music into a live piece performed at Lincoln Center, Disney Hall, and the Barbican Centre.
• Band member Matt Marks, who performed horn, keyboards and electronics, died on May 11, 2018 at age 38.
• In 2026, Alarm Will Sound won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for their recording of Donnacha Dennehy's Land Of Winter.

History

Alarm Will Sound is a 20-person chamber orchestra that specializes in contemporary classical music, praised by the Financial Times for its "exuberance, nonchalance, and virtuosity" and called "a triumph of ensemble playing" by the San Francisco Chronicle. The New York Times has described the group as "one of the most vital and original ensembles on the American music scene." Their repertoire spans European and American works, from arch-modernist to pop-influenced pieces, and they have premiered compositions by numerous contemporary composers.

The ensemble was formed in 1996 at the Eastman School of Music by graduating members of the new music group Ossia. Their debut concert took place on May 24, 2001, featuring Steve Reich's Tehillim and The Desert Music alongside Ossia. From 2004 to 2007, they served as artists-in-residence at Dickinson College. In 2006, ASCAP awarded them the Concert Music Award for their virtuosity and commitment to 21st-century repertoire.

After two early Reich recordings, their 2005 album Acoustica presented acoustic arrangements of Aphex Twin's music. The 2009 Nonesuch release a/rhythmia mixed rhythmically complex works by composers including Ligeti, Nancarrow, and Autechre. In 2010, they collaborated with Dirty Projectors to adapt The Getty Address for live performance at venues like Lincoln Center and Disney Hall. Since 2010, they have been the resident ensemble at the Mizzou International Composers Festival, premiering eight works annually.

Their 2011 Carnegie Hall multimedia event 1969, exploring the intersection of music and late-1960s turmoil, received critical acclaim. In 2013, they launched a St. Louis season, and from 2013–2014 they were artists-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They performed with Björk at Carnegie Hall in 2015 and initiated the Alarm System program, collaborating with artists like Medeski Martin & Wood.