Praised by the Seattle Times as “Simply marvelous” and Taiwan’s Liberty Times for
“astonishingly capturing the spirit of the music,” violinist Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu enjoys a
versatile career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator throughout North America,
Europe and Asia. Cindy has collaborated in concerts with renowned artists such as Yefim
Bronfman, Lynn Harrell, Leila Josefowicz, Cho-Liang Lin, Midori, Thomas Quasthoff, Yuja
Wang, and members of the Alban Berg, Emerson, Guarneri, Miró, and Tokyo string quartets
at prominent venues such as the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Carnegie Hall,
Lincoln Center, and festivals such as Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Great Lakes
Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Marlboro Music Festival, and Santa Fe
Chamber Music Festival. She has also collaborated as a guest violist with the Dover, Orion,
and Shanghai quartets. Cindy is a recipient of many awards including the Milka Violin Artist
Prize from the Curtis Institute of Music, and third prize at the International Violin
Competition of David Oistrakh. She has taught at the Thornton School of Music of the

University of Southern California, and curated programs for the Da Camera Society in Los
Angeles as the Artistic Partner, and is currently the Music Director of New Asia Chamber
Music Society. Cindy plays on a 1918 Stefano Scarampella violin and a 2015 Stanley
Kiernoziak viola.

Called “wholesome-looking” by the New York Times, Johnhas gained a reputation for performing new and unusual music around the globe. He was a founding member of the ensemble Alarm Will Sound and now serves both as JACK’s violist and Executive Director. John has appeared with artists including Björk and Grizzly Bear and has performed as soloist with the Pasadena Symphony, Armenian Philharmonic, Wordless Music Orchestra, OSSIA, and with the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra playing the solo part to Luciano Berio’s Chemins II under the direction of Pierre Boulez. He holds degrees from the Interlochen Arts Academy and Eastman School of Music where his primary teachers were David Holland and John Graham. John serves on the faculty of the Mannes School of Music, where JACK is Quartet in Residence. 

Praised as a “gifted, adventuresome violinist” by the Chicago Tribune and as a “remarkable, unbelievable violinist/violist extraordinaire” by the syndicated radio program Relevant Tones, Austin has gained critical and audience attention through his “wide technical range and interpretive daring” (New Music Box) as a soloist and chamber musician. He first forged his reputation in Chicago with the collective Ensemble Dal Niente, serving as the group’s Program Director, and winning the Kranichstein Music Prize (the grand prize for interpretation) at the Darmstadt Summer Course in 2012. Austin was also a founding member of Spektral Quartet, serving as Ensemble-in-Residence (as well as Adjunct Instructor of Violin) at the University of Chicago from 2011-2016. Consistently in search of new musical pathways through ensemble work, Austin has collaborated with a wide range of musical voices, from artists like Deerhoof and Julia Holter, to Miguel Zenon and Billy Childs, or Brian Ferneyhough and Kaija Saariaho. Furthermore, he has also been a guest artist with groups such as Eighth Blackbird, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNow Ensemble. His debut solo release Diligence Is to Magic as Progress Is to Flight was released in 2014 in collaboration with bassoonist/composer Katherine Young. Austin holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Northwestern University, as well as having held fellowships at the Aspen Music Festival and Lucerne Academy. Austin serves on the faculty of the Mannes School of Music, where JACK is Quartet in Residence.