Alarm Will Sound continues to push boundaries with Alarm System 2019 at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis on May 10th at 8 p.m. featuring music by King Britt, Dave Douglas, Tyshawn Sorey, and more. The performance will begin with a special collaboration between members of AWS and St. Louis musician Mvstermind (named an “Artist to Watch in 2019” by NPR).
For this, the fifth season of Alarm System, Alarm Will Sound collaborated with Dave Douglas (Guggenheim Fellow, and recipient of an Aaron Copland award and two GRAMMY® nominations) and King Britt (Philadelphia-based DJ/Producer, Pew Fellow, and host of Red Bull’s Transmissions). The ensemble will present the world premiere of Panels by Douglas, and a new, yet-to-be-named work by Britt. Panels divides the ensemble into four smaller groups, each performing a mixture of notated and improvised music. For King Britt’s new work, Chicago-based Brazilian composer Marcos Balter worked with electronic music provided by Britt, adding layers and, at times, obscuring the differences between what sounds are electronic and what are acoustic.
Additionally, Alarm Will Sound will begin their collaboration with Tyshawn Sorey, an Alarm System artist for the 2019-2020 season. AWS and Tyshawn will perform Autoschediasms, a work for improvising ensemble to be led by the composer.
Alarm System artists are chosen by members of Alarm Will Sound. They are musicians with compelling work created in non-classical ways such as improvisation, electronics, or oral transmission. Past Alarm System artists include Medeski Martin and Wood, Mira Calix, Eartheater (Alexandra Drewchin), Oren Ambarchi, St. Louis native Adult Fur, and many more.
Also on the program are other works that highlight Alarm Will Sound’s practice of embracing non-classical modes of music making. Ensemble member Courtney Orlando and composer Oscar Bettison supply arrangements of electronica music by Luke Vibert, and Tim Exile.
