Tony Conrad is considered one of the first "minimal" composer / performers, associated in his early period with La Monte Young, John Cale, Henry Flynt and legendary New York underground filmmaker Jack Smith. Conrad is also acknowledged as a pioneer of structuralist filmmaking (his 1960s film The Flicker is one of the key early works of the "structural" film movement), and in recent years he has presented and performed at festivals and events worldwide.

Conrad has worked in music composition, video, film, and performance and has taught video production and analysis in the Department of Media Study of the State University of New York at Buffalo since 1976. During the last ten years, Conrad has focused on music and performing recent works in new music venues, museums and clubs in the US and internationally. He has composed more than a dozen works, primarily for solo amplified violin with amplified strings, using special tunings and scales.