Background

DMA, Eastman School of Music

Alan Pierson has been praised as "a dynamic conductor and musical visionary" by the New York Times, "a young conductor of monstrous skill" by Newsday, "gifted and electrifying" by the Boston Globe, and "one of the most exciting figures in new music today" by Fanfare. He is the artistic director and conductor of acclaimed ensemble Alarm Will Sound, which has been called "the future of classical music" by the New York Times and "a sensational force" with "powerful ideas about how to renovate the concert experience" by the New Yorker. Pierson  served as the artistic director and conductor of the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The New York Times called Pierson's leadership at the Philharmonic "truly inspiring," and the New Yorker's Alex Ross described it as "remarkably innovative, perhaps even revolutionary."

Pierson has also appeared as a guest conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, the Steve Reich Ensemble, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Carnegie Hall's Ensemble ACJW, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and the Silk Road Project, among other ensembles. He is principal conductor of the Dublin-based Crash Ensemble and has been a visiting faculty conductor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Eastman School of Music. He regularly collaborates with major composers and performers, including Yo-Yo Ma, Steve Reich, Dawn Upshaw, Osvaldo Golijov, John Adams, Augusta Read Thomas, David Lang, Michael Gordon, Donnacha Dennehy, La Monte Young, and choreographers Christopher Wheeldon, Akram Khan, and Elliot Feld.

Pierson has recorded for Nonesuch Records, Cantaloupe Music, Sony Classical, and Sweetspot DVD.  For more information, visit his personal website.

News

Looking Back at 10 Years of the Institute for New Music

May 19, 2023

Bienen School hosts fifth biennial new music conference April 21-23

March 21, 2023

Bienen School announces new music concerts for winter and spring

January 23, 2023

Bienen School presents the Midwest premiere of ‘In a Grove’

November 4, 2022

Bienen School's Black Composer Showcase series continues

June 15, 2022

Nov. 19 Bienen concert to feature US premiere of Thomalla work

November 2, 2021

Chicago’s Ear Taxi Festival to showcase Bienen School prominently

September 9, 2021

Experiencing the Live Remote Concert Space

May 17, 2021

Bienen School hosts fourth biennial new music conference virtually on April 24

April 6, 2021

Thomalla’s ‘Dark Spring’ streaming until December 7

November 30, 2020

See All News

Ensembles

Contemporary Music Ensemble

View

Videos

Hans Thomalla - Harmoniemusik

Contemporary Music Ensemble

John Luther Adams - Ten Thousand Birds

Contemporary Music Ensemble

Alyssa Pyper - Cradle

Contemporary Music Ensemble

Andrew Norman - Try

Contemporary Music Ensemble

Webern, Burhans, and Reich

Contemporary Music Ensemble

Steve Reich: Nemmers Prize Residency

Steve Reich and Alan Pierson