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Contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound has released if it broke, a new work by composer Parker Callister, on its YouTube channel. Callister was one of eight composers selected to participate in the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival.
The piece was recorded at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre during its world premiere performance in July, as part of the 2025 MICF. Alarm Will Sound is the MICF Resident Ensemble and includes two University of Missouri School of Music faculty members, Stefan Freund and Bill Kalinkos. Freund is a Professor of Music Composition, the Artistic Director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, and Director of the Mizzou New Music Ensemble. Kalinkos teaches clarinet and co-directs the Mizzou Creative Improvisation Collective.
Taking its cue from the familiar phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Callister flips the idea on its head. if it broke unfolds as a swirling conversation in sound with off-kilter hockets, dense microtonal harmonies, improvisational sparks, and timbral shifts that continuously reshape themselves.
Throughout the piece, these musical fragments loop through evolving permutations. They never fully escape their original forms, but instead reflect, distort, and refract, creating a sonic hall of mirrors that is equal parts hypnotic and destabilizing. The result is an argument with itself, circling endlessly, revealing new faces with every turn.
Watch the new video on YouTube.
Alarm Will Sound’s next appearance in Columbia will be at 7:30 p.m. January 20 in 130 Sinquefield Music Center.
More information on Parker Callister can be found here.
A brief interview with the composer for the 2025 MICF can be found here.
To stay up to date with all Mizzou New Music Initiative announcements, follow them on Instagram and Facebook: @MizzouNewMusic