Praised by The New York Times for his “electrifying performances” which “conveyed every nuance,” American cellist Jay Campbell holds the distinction of being the only artist ever to receive two Avery Fisher Career Grants, first in 2016 as a soloist, then breaking convention with his second in 2019 as a member of the JACK Quartet. Mr. Campbell has forged a reputation as a spellbinding artist. Armed with a diverse repertoire and eclectic musical interests, he is applauded for his probing curiosity and emotional commitment to old and new works alike. Evidence of his manifold tastes is the wide range of his collaborators, including composers Elliott Carter, Pierre Boulez, David Lang, and John Zorn, as well as members of Radiohead and Einstürzende Neubauten. Recent highlights include a stellar performance of Andreia Pinto Correia’s “Reverdecer” for cello and orchestra—written specifically for Mr. Campbell—at the Women Composers Festival in Lisbon; an appearance as featured artist at the La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest in California; and eight works performed across five programs and fifteen concerts as part of the Bank of America Chamber Music Series at South Carolina’s Spoleto Festival. In 2017, Jay Campbell was named artiste étoile (artist-in-residence) of the Lucerne Festival, the youngest artist ever to have achieved that distinction. While there, he held both programming and performing positions. The year prior saw his highly successful debut as artistic director of Ligeti Forward for the New York Philharmonic’s 2016 BIENNIAL; the success of this project underscored his outstanding contributions as both curator and performer. Working closely with Alan Gilbert, he created a three-concert series exploring Hungarian composer György Ligeti as a major fountainhead of modern music; these programs spotlighted the well-known piano, violin, and cello concertos, along with works by Ligeti’s students. In addition to putting his exceptional musical knowledge to work, he was also a featured soloist on the second program performing Ligeti’s Cello Concerto (1966). Other highlights include Campbell’s Berlin debut at the Berlin Philharmonie with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and his New York Philharmonic debut performing Tan Dun’s “Silk Road Encounters” from Crouching Tiger Concerto at Avery Fisher Hall. Among the conductors with whom he has collaborated are the late Pierre Boulez, Ludovic Morlot, Matthias Pintscher, Michael Morgan, Jeffrey Milarsky, Joshua Weilerstein, Ryan McAdams, and Ludovic Morlot. He has had the privilege of working with leading new music groups, including ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble), Ensemble InterContemporain, Da Capo Chamber Players, and the Argento Ensemble. Mr. Campbell has premiered nearly one hundred works to date, including concerti by Chris Rogerson and Pulitzer Prize winning composer, David Lang. At the 2017 Lucerne Festival, he performed the Swiss premiere of Michael Van der Aa’s multimedia cello concerto Up-close, as well as the world premiere of Luca Francesconi’s Das Ding Singt (commissioned for him by the Lucerne Festival), conducted by Matthias Pintscher. During the 2015/2016 season, he premiered a new cello concerto entitled Genus and Species, written for him by American composer David Fulmer, and co-commissioned by the Human Rights Foundation. Mr. Campbell’s close association with John Zorn led to the release of the album Hen to Pan featuring a collection of new compositions written for him by Zorn, and released in February 2015; it was cited by The New York Times in its “Best Classical Music Recordings of 2015.” The Seattle Symphony released two recordings featuring Mr. Campbell, both with the orchestra’s music director, Ludovic Morlot. The first, in 2018, featured George Perle’s cello concerto (Bridge), and the second, in 2019, included a recording of Marc-André Dalbavie's cello concerto (Seattle Symphony Media). Among other recent releases is “Prolegomena” (Tzadik), featuring Mr. Campbell in chamber works by John Zorn in 2025. As a chamber musician, Mr. Campbell is a member of the JACK Quartet, and the Junction Trio with violinist Stefan Jackiw and pianist Conrad Tao. Other collaborators include members of the Arditti, Takács, Kronos, and Afiara String Quartets. He has been invited to the Marlboro and Music@Menlo Festivals, and has enjoyed residencies at Vermont’s Yellow Barn Music Festival and at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Texas. Other guest appearances include the Spoleto, Ojai, Moab, Chamber Music Northwest, Heidelberger Frühling/Germany, DITTO/Korea, Rockport Chamber Music, and Lincoln Center festivals. He has served on the faculty at Vassar College and the Banff Centre. Recipient of awards from the BMI and ASCAP foundations, Jay Campbell was also First Prize winner of the 2012 Concert Artist Guild auditions, and Second Prize winner of the 2015 Walter W. Naumburg International Cello Competition, competing against more than a hundred cellists worldwide. Born in Berkeley, California, he began playing the cello at the age of eight at the Crowden School in Berkeley. He holds an Artist Diploma, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School where he was a student of Fred Sherry. Mr. Campbell plays on a cello crafted in the 1750s by Italian luthier Paolo Antonio Testore of Milan.