About
JACK Quartet is an American string quartet dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. 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, and Muir String Quartet.
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JACK has received strong critical reception for their performances of quartets by Iannis Xenakis, Georg Friedrich Haas, Helmut Lachenmann and Steve Reich, 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.
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 ceremony.
Members
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Christopher Otto violin
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John Pickford Richards viola
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Jay Campbell cello
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Austin Wulliman violin
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Kevin McFarland cello
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Ari Streisfeld violin
Discography
Albums
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Complete String Quartets
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Ligeti / Pintscher / Cage / Xenakis Apple Music
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Thaw
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Sibyl Tones
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Piano Sonatas & String Quartets I
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Hidden
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Chamber Works
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Through the Mangrove Tunnels
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Sonare & Celare
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Lines Made by Walking
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aggregate forms
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Intonations
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Waves and Particles
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The Complete String Quartets
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Escape Rites
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Chamber Works for Strings
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The Holy Liftoff
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The Hand Is an Ear
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Stirrings Still
Links
Official
Reference
Founder
Also known as
The JACK Quartet
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- 706e1bc8-aab9-4e44-9c70-2e2161e6de4e
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 10 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.