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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.

Michael Riesman, the multi-talented composer, conductor, keyboardist, and record producer, has influenced many of today’s greatest talents as the innovative musical director of the world-renowned Philip Glass Ensemble. Riesman has had a long-lived collaborative relationship with Philip Glass. Indeed, when Glass received his Golden Globe Award in 1999 for The Truman Show score, he publicly proclaimed Riesman "a genius."

Riesman has been playing keyboards in the Philip Glass Ensemble since 1974, and has served as its Musical Director since 1976. In addition to conducting the Oscar nominated scores Notes On A Scandal, The Truman Show, and Martin Scorsese’s Kundun, he is the conductor of the revolutionary Einstein on the Beach (both recordings), Glassworks, The Photographer, Songs From Liquid Days, Dance Pieces, The Illusionist, Hamburger Hill, Music in 12 Parts (all three recordings), Passages, Koyaanisqatsi (both recordings), Mishima, Powaqqatsi, The Thin Blue Line, Anima Mundi, The Secret Agent, A Brief History of Time, La Belle et La Bête, Candyman, , Naqoyqatsi, Taking Lives, Secret Window, and numerous other soundtracks and albums. Riesman was the pianist on the Oscar-nominated score for The Hours, and has also released an album of his arrangement of that music for solo piano.

In addition to his work with the Philip Glass Ensemble, Riesman has also conducted and performed on albums by Paul Simon (Hearts and Bones), Scott Johnson (Patty Hearst), Mike Oldfield (Platinum), Ray Manzarek (Carmina Burana), David Bowie (BlackTie/White Noise), and Gavin Bryars (Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet).

Along with interpreting the music of others, Riesman also finds time to create original works. He has released an album, Formal Abandon, which he wrote, produced and performed entirely, on the Rizzoli label, which originated from a commission by choreographer Lucinda Childs. In the theater, he collaborated with Robert Wilson on Edison (presented in New York, Paris, and Milan). His film scores include Enormous Changes at the Last Minute, Pleasantville (1976), and Christian Blackwood's Signed: Lino Brocka.

Brad Lubman, conductor/composer, has gained widespread recognition during the past two decades for his versatility, commanding technique, and insightful interpretations. Conducting a broad range of repertoire from classical to contemporary works, Lubman has led orchestras including DSO Berlin, RSO Stuttgart, SWR Orchestra Baden-Baden/Freiburg, WDR Symphony Cologne, Dresden Philharmonic, National Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, Taiwan National Symphony, and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. He has conducted major ensembles for contemporary music, including Ensemble Modern, London Sinfonietta, Musik Fabrik, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Resonanz, Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, Chicago Symphony MusicNOW, and Steve Reich and Musicians. Lubman was assistant conductor to Oliver Knussen at the Tanglewood Music Center from 1989-94. He 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.