With innovative multi-genre original productions, sensational interpretations of modern works, and more than 20 albums, Sō Percussion has redefined the scope and role of the modern percussion ensemble. Sō’s repertoire ranges from classics of the 20th century (John Cage, Steve Reich, Iannis Xenakis) to commissions and new works by contemporary composers (David Lang, Steven Mackey, Paul Lansky) to distinctively modern collaborations with artists who work outside the classical concert hall (Shara Nova, electronic duo Matmos, Dan Deacon, Wilco’s Glenn Kotche, choreographer Shen Wei, Bryce Dessner).

Recent highlights include Sō’s acclaimed “Trilogy” series at the 2016 Lincoln Center Festival; appearances at the Bonnaroo and Eaux Claires festivals, MASS MoCA, and TED2016; the ensemble’s original production, A Gun Show, at BAM’s Next Wave Festival; and an original score for a live performance and broadcast of WNYC’s Radiolab.

This season, Sō tours Caroline Shaw’s Narrow Sea, a new work written for the ensemble with Dawn Upshaw and Gilbert Kalish; toured its newest original work, From Out a Darker Sea, which explores the experience of coal mining communities; and appeared at the Mostly Mozart Festival both in recital and in a performance of David Lang’s man made with Louis Langrée and the Festival Orchestra.

Sō Percussion is the Edward T. Cone Ensemble-in-Residence at Princeton University, and its members are co-directors of the percussion department at the Bard College Conservatory of Music. Since 2009, Sō has run the annual Sō Percussion Summer Institute (SōSI), providing college-age composers and percussionists with immersive exposure to collaboration, project development, and community service.

Sō Percussion uses Vic Firth sticks, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drumheads, Estey organs, and Pearl/Adams instruments. Sō Percussion would like to thank these companies for their generous support and donations.

Known for its rigorous advocacy of new music, the JACK Quartet has been praised for its stellar musicianship and fierce commitment to contemporary works and composers.

The recipient of Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award, New Music USA’s Trailblazer Award, and the CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, JACK has performed to critical acclaim at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Miller Theatre, Wigmore Hall, the Netherlands’ Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Germany’s Kölner Philharmonie, France’s IRCAM, Japan’s Suntory Hall, Argentina’s Teatro Colón, and the Lucerne Festival, Venice Biennale, Bali Arts Festival, and Festival Internacional Cervantino.

JACK’s focus on new work has led to collaborations with composers John Luther Adams, Chaya Czernowin, Simon Steen-Andersen, Caroline Shaw, Helmut Lachenmann, Steve Reich, Matthias Pintscher, and John Zorn. Upcoming and recent premieres include works by Derek Bermel, Cenk Ergün, Roger Reynolds, Toby Twining, and Georg Friedrich Haas.

JACK operates as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the performance, commission, and dissemination of new string quartet music. Committed to education, the quartet spends two weeks each summer teaching at New Music on the Point, a contemporary chamber music festival in Vermont for young performers and composers. JACK has longstanding relationships with the University of Iowa String Quartet Residency Program, where its members teach and collaborate with students each fall, as well as the Boston University Center for New Music, where they visit each semester. The quartet also makes regular visits to Columbia, Harvard, New York, Princeton, Stanford, and Washington universities.