The JACK Quartet is an American
string quartet
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
dedicated to the performance of
contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...
. It was founded in 2005 and is based in New York City. The four founding members are violinists Christopher Otto and Ari Streisfeld, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Kevin McFarland.
In 2016, violinist Austin Wulliman and cellist Jay Campbell joined the quartet, replacing Streisfeld and McFarland. The quartet met while attending the
Eastman School of Music, and they have studied closely with the
Kronos Quartet,
Arditti Quartet
The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974 and led by the British violinist Irvine Arditti. The quartet is a globally recognized promoter of contemporary classical music and has a reputation for having a very wide repertoire. T ...
, and Muir String Quartet.
JACK has received strong critical reception for their performances of quartets by
Iannis Xenakis,
Georg Friedrich Haas
Georg Friedrich Haas (born 16 August 1953 in Graz, Austria) is an Austrian composer. In a 2017 ''Classic Voice'' poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000, pieces by Haas received the most votes (49), and his composition ''in vain'' (20 ...
,
and
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...
,
and has performed at venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, New York's Lincoln Center, London's Wigmore Hall,
and Amsterdam's Muziekgebouw. The group has also been heard at many contemporary music festivals, including the
Donaueschingen Festival, the
Lucerne Festival, the Bali Arts Festival, the
Reykjavik Arts Festival, and the
Venice Biennale.
The JACK Quartet's radio credits include appearances on WNYC's New Sounds and Soundcheck,
"The Music Show" from Australian National Broadcasting,
and a full concert broadcast by NPR.
The group has initiated many educational residencies with composition students from a variety of institutions including New York University, Columbia University, The University of Iowa and Berklee College of Music.
Their album ''Lines Made By Walking'' was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance at the
2022 Grammy Awards
The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...
ceremony.
Quartet members
*Christopher Otto,
violin
*Austin Wulliman,
violin
*John Pickford Richards,
viola
*Jay Campbell,
cello
Recordings
References
External links
JACK Quartet official siteColbert Artists Management, Inc.Interview with the JACK Quartet
American string quartets
Contemporary classical music ensembles
Musical groups from New York City
2007 establishments in New York City
Musical groups established in 2007
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