The Junction Trio to Premiere Music By John Zorn At The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum will continue its Fall 2025 Weekend Concert Series, presenting the Junction Trio on Sunday, September 21 at 1:30 pm in an afternoon of virtuosic and theatrical chamber music by John Zorn, including the world premieres of two new pieces by the celebrated avant-garde composer. The acclaimed supergroup—Stefan Jackiw (violin), Jay Campbell (cello), and Conrad Tao (piano)—will be joined by special guests Jorge Roeder (bass) and Ches Smith (drums).

Known for unique program combinations and vibrant performances, the Junction Trio brings a fresh approach to the repertoire, dazzling audiences with their virtuosity and unity. A.Z. Madonna reported in the Boston Globe,  “Watching the trio perform, one really couldn't tell who was happier to be there—the rapt audience or the musicians, who threw themselves into repertoire they clearly love. . . . These three are onto something special.” Since forming in 2015, the Trio has performed across the country at leading venues including Carnegie Hall, Washington Performing Arts, 92nd Street Y, Royal Conservatory in Toronto, Newport Classical, the Aspen Music Festival, and for the LA Philharmonic's NowRising Series at The Ford Theater.

The New York Times has praised the individual musicians of the Junction Trio, comprising the “brilliant young violinist” Stefan Jackiw, the “electrifying” cellist Jay Campbell, and pianist and composer Conrad Tao, a musician of “probing intellect and open-hearted vision.” Together, Susan Miron writes in the Boston Musical Intelligencer, “This top-notch trio stands at the top of its game.”

At the Gardner Museum, the Junction Trio will give the world premiere of John Zorn's Notes on the Assumption of Mystical Solidarity Approaching Nine Neological Approximations Illuminating the Eternal Return of the Same and But Doth Suffer a Sea-Change, both composed this year for the Trio. The program also includes Zorn's Philosophical Investigations I and II and I Am Your Labyrinth…, all composed in the last three years by Zorn for the Trio.

Zorn has written more than a dozen new works for members of the Junction Trio over the years. In an interview with The Strad, cellist Jay Campbell described the unusual process of working with him, saying, “With John Zorn, you can bring up an idea, and then a week later, a piece lands in your inbox—it's so immediate. And John always thinks about writing for people, not instruments, and takes into consideration the personality of the players. He has written a lot of pieces for me or for ensembles that I'm in, so he knows my playing well and knows where to challenge me. Every single piece of his has new challenges that push my playing—often in directions that I didn't think were possible. It almost feels like he knows my playing better than I do. It's really fun to grow into a piece, especially when it's written for you.”

In the same interview, violinist Stefan Jackiw says of the surprising nature of Zorn's music, that it “has a reputation for being very dense and thorny, but it's actually highly lyrical.” He continues, “There are moments of almost Italian, bel canto textures. They get juxtaposed with incredibly kinetic, thorny stuff, where there's a bajillion things happening at once. Suddenly there will be a clearing and then a soaring melody with a clear, accompanimental line.” 

The Fall 2025 Weekend Concert Series is an eleven-concert autumn season curated by Abrams Curator of Music George Steel running from September 13 through November 23, 2025, which features world-class artists in the Museum's extraordinary Calderwood Hall—a 300-seat “sonic cube” with three-levels of balconies designed so that 80% of seats are front row, creating a uniquely intense and intentional listening experience.