Brad Lubman
Professor of Conducting & Ensembles
Director, Eastman Musica Nova
BIOGRAPHY
Brad Lubman, conductor/composer, is one of the foremost conductors of modern music and a leading figure in the field for over two decades. A frequent guest conductor of the world’s most distinguished orchestras and new music ensembles, he has gained widespread recognition for his versatility, commanding technique, and insightful interpretations. His flexibility in a variety of settings has led him to conduct a broad range of repertoire from classical to contemporary works, and to direct projects including orchestra, opera, multimedia, and mixed ensemble.
Lubman has led major orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Danish National Symphony, NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg, DSO Berlin, SWR Sinfonieorchester, WDR Symphony Cologne, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Finnish Radio Symphony, and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.
In addition, he has worked with some of the most important European and American ensembles for contemporary music, including Ensemble Modern, London Sinfonietta, Klangforum Wien, Musik Fabrik, Ensemble Resonanz, 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.
Lubman is founding Co-Artistic and Music Director of the NY-based Ensemble Signal. Since its debut in 2008, the Ensemble has performed over 180 concerts and co-produced ten recordings. Their recording of Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians on harmonia mundi was awarded a Diapason d’or in June 2015 and appeared on the Billboard Classical crossover charts.
Lubman has been particularly noted for his ability to quickly master challenging scores in a variety of settings, a skill honed between 1989-94, when he was assistant to Oliver Knussen at Tanglewood. Lubman has conducted numerous world premieres. Among these are Steve Reich’s Three Tales, Runner, Daniel Variations, Radio Rewrite, and Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings. Additional world premieres given by Lubman include Helmut Lachenmann’s Concertini and Michael Gordon/David Lang/Julia Wolfe’s Shelter, as well as works by Philip Glass, Brian Ferneyhough, Charles Wuorinen, John Zorn, and Hilda Paredes.
Lubman was the 2017 Composer in Residence at the Grafenegg Festival in Austria in his dual role as conductor and composer in residence; a highlight of his residency was a performance with the Tonkünstler Orchestra Austria, where he led works by Brahms and Mahler as well as the world premiere of his own Reflections for orchestra. His recent work Tangents was commissioned by the LA Philharmonic and premiered at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Brad Lubman is on faculty at the Eastman School of Music and the Bang on a Can Summer Institute.