“A new-music ensemble that by this point practically guarantees quality performances…”
Ensemble Signal is a NY-based ensemble dedicated to offering the broadest possible audience access to a diverse range of contemporary works through performance, commissioning, recording, and education. Since its debut in 2008, Signal has performed over 350 concerts, premiered numerous works, and co-produced ten recordings.
Signal was founded by Co-Artistic/Executive Director Lauren Radnofsky and Co-Artistic Director/Conductor Brad Lubman. Described by the New York Times as "one of the most vital groups of its kind” and “A new-music ensemble that by this point practically guarantees quality performances,” Signal regularly performs with Lubman and features a supergroup of independent artists from the modern music scene. Lubman, one of the foremost conductors of modern music and a leading figure in the field for over two decades, is a frequent guest with the world’s most distinguished orchestras and new music ensembles.
The Ensemble has appeared at concert halls and international festivals including Lincoln Center Festival, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Series at Walt Disney Concert Hall, BIG EARS Festival, Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, Lincoln Center American Songbook, The Library of Congress, Washington Performing Arts, Cal Performances, Tanglewood Music Festival of Contemporary Music, Ojai Music Festival, the Guggenheim Museum (NY), NPR Tiny Desk Concerts and the Bang on a Can Marathon. They regularly work directly with nearly all the composers they perform in order to offer the most authentic interpretations, a list that includes Hans Abrahamsen, Unsuk Chin, Michael Gordon, Georg Friedrich Haas, Oliver Knussen, Helmut Lachenmann, David Lang, Hilda Paredes, Steve Reich, Kaija Saariaho and Julia Wolfe.
Recent highlights include the world premiere and 130 performances of Reich’s Reich/Richter for large ensemble, with artwork and film by Gerhard Richter for the inaugural season of New York’s multi-arts venue, The Shed (spring 2019), and the US premieres of Reich’s Runner at venues across the US (2017-18). Upcoming highlights in 2022 include the US premieres of music by Luca Francesconi and George Lewis, the world premiere of a new work by Darian Donovan Thomas, a concert of music curated by Julia Wolfe at Carnegie Hall, as well as workshop performances with the next generation of composers.
Among Signal’s recordings are Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians, which was released in May 2015 on harmonia mundi and received a Diapason d’or and appeared on the Billboard Classical Crossover Charts. Additional recordings include a CD & DVD of music by Lachenmann, with the composer as soloist in “…Zwei Gefühle…” (Mode) and Gordon/Lang/Wolfe’s Shelter (Cantaloupe).
Signal’s passion for the diverse range of music being written today is a driving force behind their projects. The Ensemble’s repertoire ranges from minimalism or pop-influenced to the iconoclastic European avant-garde. Signal’s projects are carefully conceived through close collaboration with cooperating presenting organizations, composers, and artists. Signal is flexible in size and instrumentation - everything from solo to large ensemble and opera, including film or multimedia, in any possible combination - enabling it to meet the ever-changing demands on the 21st century performing ensemble.
“Those musicians (Ensemble Signal) can show and teach us that performing and listening to music — be it old or be it new — should become an existential adventure which might open our aesthetic and human horizon.”
Ensemble Signal builds tailor-made projects in collaboration with artists and organizations, bringing a diverse range of contemporary music to the broadest possible audience through performance, commissioning, recording and education. Signal has realized many performance and educational projects that are ideal for replication, and is firmly committed to building new projects that encompass a wide variety of musical styles, scopes, and sizes.
Co-Artistic/Executive Director
Erin Lensing
Project Management Assistant
Co-Artistic Director/Music Director
Violin
Lauren Cauley
Olivia De Prato
Will Knuth
Yuki Numata Resnick
Courtney Orlando
Chris Otto
Ari Streisfeld
Viola
Caleb Burhans
Isabel Hagen
Victor Lowrie
John Pickford Richards
Cello
Kevin McFarland
Lauren Radnofsky
Mariel Roberts
Bass
Greg Chudzik
Flute
Kelli Kathman
Jessica Schmitz
Oboe
Jacqueline Leclair
Christa Robinson
Clarinet
Adrián Sandí
Ken Thomson
Bassoon
Brad Balliett
Trumpet
Mike Gurfield
Trombone
Steven Parker
Piano/Keyboard
David Friend
Oliver Hagen
Lisa Moore
Ning Yu
Percussion
Matt Evans
Amy Garapic
Carson Moody
Doug Perkins
Bill Solomon
Cimbalom/Percussion
Nick Tolle
Harp
Nuiko Wadden
Sound Director
Paul Coleman
Lauren DiGiulio
President
Richard Li
Tiffany Valvo
Treasurer
Caroline Parker-Beaudrias
Secretary
Any size financial contribution will allow us to continue our mission of offering the broadest possible audience accessibility to a diverse range of music through performance, education, commissioning, and recording. All financial contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
In addition to our own team of volunteers, Signal is most grateful for professionals who provide us with in-kind services. These great folks' services directly contribute to making our programs possible. We'd love to hear from you if you might like to learn more about getting involved as a volunteer!
Ensemble Signal thanks the foundations, organizations, and individuals supporting our current operations or programs with their most appreciated financial and in-kind contributions, including lead support from:
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
Joan Margot Smith
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