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JACK Quartet

Concert: Premiered Saturday, August 29
Video of Marcos Balter’s and George Lewis’s pieces to the right →
Concert program to the right, below the video

Artist Conversation video below

Due to the pandemic, what we had intended to be the final concert of last season could not be presented in person; but the fabulous JACK Quartet performed it and we streamed the video of the entire concert in September and October.

We are pleased to announce this special event, Co-Presented by New Music New College and Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Music Center, New York City. Like New Music New College, the Kaufman Music Center believes that “music is essential to the human experience and a vital component of education for everyone.” Working with Kaufman, New Music New College is excited to unveil our first digital event of the fall, shot with several angles of video and recorded in full multi-track audio.

Long recognized as one of the world’s premiere new music ensembles, JACK Quartet was named Musical America’s 2018 “Ensemble of the Year,” and in 2019 received a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. JACK made its NMNC debut in 2008, and has become a favorite through subsequent appearances, which have included a performance of music composed by New College alums and an unforgettable performance of Georg Friedrich Haas’s String Quartet No. 3, performed in total darkness in the Black Box Theater. For this special streamed concert JACK will perform Zosha di Castri's String Quartet, Marcos Balter's Chambers, Anthony Braxton's Composition 18, Clara Iannotta's A Failed Entertainment, and George Lewis's String Quartet 2.5.

The “nation’s most important quartet”—The New York Times

“The go-to quartet for contemporary music, tying impeccable musicianship to intellectual ferocity and a take-no-prisoners sense of commitment.”—The Washington Post

photo credit: Beowulf Sheehan

Through intimate relationships with today’s most creative voices, JACK embraces close collaboration with the composers they perform, leading to a radical embodiment of the technical, musical, and emotional aspects of their work. The quartet has worked with artists such as Julia Wolfe, George Lewis, Chaya Czernowin, Helmut Lachenmann, Caroline Shaw, and Simon Steen-Andersen, with upcoming and recent premieres including works by Tyshawn Sorey, Sabrina Schroeder, John Luther Adams, Clara Iannotta, Philip Glass, Catherine Lamb, Lester St. Louis, and John Zorn. JACK also recently announced their new Fulcrum Project, an all-access initiative to commission six artists each year, who will receive money, workshop time, mentorship, and resources to develop new work to be performed and recorded by the quartet.

JACK has performed to critical acclaim at Carnegie Hall (USA), Lincoln Center (USA), Berlin Philharmonie (Germany), Wigmore Hall (United Kingdom), Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ (Netherlands), The Louvre (France), Kölner Philharmonie (Germany), the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), La Biennale di Venezia (Italy), Suntory Hall (Japan), Bali Arts Festival (Indonesia), Festival Internacional Cervatino (Mexico), and Teatro Colón (Argentina). Additional awards include Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award, New Music USA's Trailblazer Award, and the CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming.

photo credit: Beowulf Sheehan

Comprising violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Jay Campbell, JACK operates as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the performance, commissioning, and appreciation of new string quartet music.

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Support for this season was provided by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.