Who We Are

JACK Quartet Bio

Undeniably our generation’s “leading new-music foursome,” JACK Quartet’s “stylistic range, precision and passion have made the group one of contemporary music’s indispensable ensembles” (The New York Times). Comprising violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Jay Campbell, JACK Quartet is a pioneering string quartet synchronized in their mission to create an international community through transformative, mind-broadening experiences and close listening. Founded in 2005, JACK Quartet operates as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the performance, commissioning, and appreciation of 20th and 21st century string quartet music, delving deeply into challenging new compositions and musical practices from a staggering range of stylistic viewpoints. 

JACK Quartet’s contributions to the field have been recognized with an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Fromm Music Foundation Prize, Musical America’s 2019 “Ensemble of the Year” Award, Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award, New Music USA's Trailblazer Award, CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, 2024 Chamber Music America’s Michael Jaffee Visionary Award, the Italian Music Critic's Prize as the Best Ensemble of 2024, and Portrait Artists of the 2025 Festival d'Automne.

Among the highlights of their 2026-2027 season, JACK Quartet returns to NYC’s 92NY for a concert featuring the world premiere of new work for string quartet, voice, and electronics by JACK Studio Artist Charmaine Lee; performances at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Met Cloisters presented by Met Live Arts; a world premiere by Juri Seo commissioned by Nova Linea Musica (Chicago); performances at Hancher/UIowa, the Library of Congress, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and TIME:SPANS Festival; and international engagements at Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti in Rome; UNAM in Mexico City; and their annual three-concert marathon day at Wigmore Hall in London. 

JACK Quartet embraces close collaboration with the composers whose work they perform, yielding a radical embodiment of the technical, musical, and emotional aspects of their work. JACK Quartet has both self-commissioned and been commissioned to create new works with artists such as Philip Glass, Georg Friedrich Haas, Liza Lim, Caroline Shaw, and John Zorn, with upcoming and recent premieres by John Luther Adams, Ellen Fullman, Catherine Lamb, George Lewis, Andrew Norman, Terry Riley, Gabriella Smith, and Tyshawn Sorey.

Through intimate, long-standing relationships with many of today’s most creative voices, JACK Quartet has a prolific recording catalog and has been nominated for two GRAMMY® Awards, the most recent being Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for John Luther Adams’ Waves and Particles. According to Musical America, “many of their recordings are must-haves, for anyone interested in new music.” Other albums include music by Terry Riley with flutist Claire Chase, Nick Dunston, Jason Eckardt, Helmut Lachenmann, Liza Lim, Rand Steiger, Amy Williams, Du Yun, Iannis Xenakis, the complete string quartets of John Zorn and an upcoming release of the complete quartets of Elliott Carter.

Created by JACK Quartet in 2019, JACK Studio continues to grow as a thriving creative engine, supporting the development and performance of new string quartet repertoire through Readings, Recordings, Commissions, and Artists-in-Residence with artists ranging from the emerging to the established. More than 100 composers have worked with JACK Quartet through JACK Studio, hailing from Argentina, Belarus, Canada, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, South Africa, Syria, and the United States. Their projects have been performed by JACK Quartet at venues including 92NY, Cal Performances, MoMA PS1, Ojai Music Festival, Maerz Musik (Berlin), Only Connect Oslo, Lucerne Festival, and Pierre Boulez Saal, in addition to being recorded for professional releases. 

JACK Quartet has performed to critical acclaim at venues such as Carnegie Hall (USA), Lincoln Center (USA), UChicago Presents (USA), Library of Congress (USA), Berlin Philharmonie (Germany), BBC Proms (United Kingdom), Royal Library (Denmark), Philharmonie de Paris (France), Kölner Philharmonie (Germany), Sydney Opera House (Australia), Salzburg Festival (Switzerland), La Biennale di Venezia (Italy), Suntory Hall (Japan), Bali Arts Festival (Indonesia), Festival Internacional Cervantino (Mexico), and Teatro Colón (Argentina). 

Based in New York City, JACK Quartet is the Ensemble-in-Residence at the Mannes School of Music at The New School where they provide mentorship to Mannes’ Cuker and Stern Graduate String Quartet.  JACK has a long-standing relationship with the University of Iowa String Quartet Residency Program, where they teach and collaborate with students each fall and spring.