Austin Wulliman, violin

Violinist, composer, and educator Austin Wulliman is a member of JACK Quartet, which the New York Times has called “the nation’s most important quartet.” The Chicago Tribune has praised him as a “gifted, adventuresome violinist.” He works closely with performers and composers across a wide range of styles, and is known for searching out the violin’s voice in today’s music.

With JACK, Wulliman has performed at Wigmore Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Elbphilharmonie, Carnegie Hall, and the Wiener Konzerthaus, and at festivals including Tanglewood, Ojai, Spoleto, Lucerne, and Wien Modern. The quartet has premiered works by John Luther Adams, Chaya Czernowin, Philip Glass, Georg Friedrich Haas, Clara Iannotta, George Lewis, Tyshawn Sorey, and John Zorn. His honors include Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant, the 2022 Fromm Foundation Prize, and the Darmstadt Kranichstein Prize, and he shared Musical America’s 2019 Ensemble of the Year award with JACK.

As a composer, he released his debut album, The News From Utopia, in 2023. He wrote, recorded, and mixed it himself. His second album, Escape Rites, featuring JACK Quartet, followed on Sono Luminus in 2025. His music has been heard at Miller Theatre, Lincoln Center, the Pierre Boulez Saal, and on Nova Linea Musica’s 2026-27 season opener with JACK Quartet.

Wulliman first built his career in Chicago. He was Program Director of Ensemble Dal Niente and a founding member of Spektral Quartet, which was in residence at the University of Chicago from 2011 to 2016. He serves on the faculty of the Mannes School of Music, where JACK is Quartet in Residence. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan (summa cum laude) and Northwestern University.

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