JACK Quartet

This fall, the world-renowned JACK Quartet and its cadre of musical collaborators will descend upon Potash Hill to workshop and develop new musical work. Three resident artists of the quartet’s JACK Studio program will work closely with the ensemble on new material and receive mentorship from current JACK Studio commissioned composer, Anthony Cheung, who will also work with JACK on a new work for its premiere on November 10 at the 92NY.

Prior to debuting the new work in New York, JACK will perform a free community concert on Friday, November 8 at 7 pm in Ragle Hall. This event is co-presented by NextStage Arts and features music by Travis Laplante, Eduardo Aguilar, Seare Farhat, and other JACK Studio artists.

Founded in 2005, JACK is a Grammy-nominated string quartet dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. The New York-based ensemble consists of violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Jay Campbell, the latter of whom spent three summers on Potash Hill as a participant at Marlboro Music.

The quartet’s all-access initiative, JACK Studio, funds annual collaborations with a selection of artists to develop new works for string quartet. Through its successful nonprofit model, the quartet has created hundreds of new works by the world’s top composers.

JACK has long observed the transformative impact that schools and festivals can have for composers, strengthening their portfolios and advancing them to new artistic, educational, and professional opportunities. However, the social, cultural, and economic realities of institutional access have disproportionately and unfairly excluded many people. JACK addresses this inequity by inviting artists to apply for JACK Studio, offering them paid opportunities to develop new work, hear their music performed by JACK, consult with mentors in the field, and receive recorded documentation.

Hailed by The New York Times as “our leading new-music foursome,” JACK Quartet is synchronized in its mission to create an international community through transformative, mind-broadening experiences and close listening. The ensemble operates as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the performance, commissioning, and appreciation of 20th- and 21st-century string quartet music. This season, the quartet is featured in the ongoing celebrations of John Zorn’s 70th birthday, a three-concert day at Wigmore Hall, a premiere by Natacha Diels in Philadelphia, and an Australian tour. For more information on JACK, visit jackquartet.com.