Signal is a large ensemble dedicated to performing the music of our time with energy, virtuosity, and passion. Its members include some of most gifted and innovative young musicians working in New York. Signal performs under the musical direction of Brad Lubman, who founded the group along with cellist and co-artistic director Lauren Radnofsky. Lubman, one of the premier conductors of new music, has worked closely with some of greatest composers of contemporary concert music – among them Berio, Boulez, Reich, Wuorinen, and Lachenmann – and has appeared with some of the world’s most illustrious orchestras and new music ensembles.

With Signal, described by The New York Times as “one of the most vital groups of its kind,” Lubman has assembled a superb collection of musicians who have worked closely with him during the past decade. Members of So Percussion, JACK Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and other leading New York ensembles perform regularly with the ensemble. Signal is flexible in size and instrumentation, ranging from nonet to chamber orchestra to meet the demands of its diverse repertoire.

Signal made its debut in Spring 2008 at the Bang on a Can Marathon in NYC and the Ojai Music Festival in California, earning praise for “deeply committed performances” (Musical America) of “gripping vehemence” (LA Times).

In the Fall of 2008, Signal gave two sold-out performances of Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians and You Are (Variations) at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC. The New York Times hailed the group for its “vibrant, euphoric performances that seemed to electrify the remarkably youthful audience.” Capacity crowds greeted Signal’s return to LPR for a series of three concerts in Spring 2009, featuring Philip Glass’s Suite from ‘The Hours’ and Symphony No. 3, Michael Gordon’s Trance, and Steve Reich’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet.

The 2009-10 season brings a U.S. tour with iconoclastic German composer Helmut Lachenmann (April) and the U.S. premiere of Harrison Birtwistle’s chamber opera The Corridor (May). Signal will also perform at the University at Buffalo as a visiting resident ensemble. In October 2010, Signal will perform Evan Ziporyn’s music at Zankel Hall as part of Carnegie Hall’s “Making Music” series. Further events include a pair of Composer Portrait concerts at Columbia University's Miller Theatre during the 2010-11 season.

Brad Lubman, conductor/composer, has played a vital role in contemporary music for more than two decades. A frequent guest conductor of the world’s leading ensembles, he has gained widespread recognition for his versatility, commanding technique, and insightful interpretations.

Conducting a broad range of repertoire from classical to contemporary works, Lubman has led major orchestras in Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and the U.S. Among these are the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, RSO Stuttgart, WDR Symphony Cologne, National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Finnish Radio Symphony, and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic.

In addition, he has worked with some of the most important European and American ensembles for contemporary music, including Ensemble Modern, London Sinfonietta, Musik Fabrik, ASKO Ensemble, Ensemble Resonanz, Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, Chicago Symphony MusicNOW, and Steve Reich and Musicians.

Lubman has conducted at new-music festivals across Europe, including those in Lucerne, Salzburg, Berlin, Huddersfield, Paris, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Oslo. He has recorded for BMG/RCA, Nonesuch, Koch, and New World, among other labels. His own music has been performed in the USA and Europe, and can be heard on his first portrait CD, insomniac, on Tzadik.

Brad Lubman is particularly noted for his ability to master challenging new scores in a variety of settings, a skill honed during his tenure as Assistant Conductor to Oliver Knussen at the Tanglewood Music Center from 1989-94. That aptitude has earned him the opportunity to premiere works by a wide range of composers, including Michael Gordon, Jonny Greenwood, David Lang, Helmut Lachenmann, Meredith Monk, Michael Nyman, Steve Reich, Augusta Read Thomas, Julia Wolfe, Charles Wuorinen, and John Zorn.

Lubman is Music Director of the new music ensemble Signal, founded in 2008 and recently hailed by The New York Times as “one of the most vital groups of its kind.” With critically-praised performances at the Bang on a Can Marathon, Le Poisson Rouge (NYC), and the Ojai Music Festival, Signal has rapidly become a vital force in the American new music scene.

Brad Lubman is on faculty at the Eastman School of Music and the Bang on a Can Summer Institute. He is represented by Karsten Witt Musik Management.