A violist is a philosopher, a connector, a pioneer and a human voice. To listen more than to draw attention to oneself, being a musician demands extraordinary awareness and aliveness in all our senses while remaining humble and joyful in our pursuit. I hope the VivaViola! community can become a space and support for everyone who loves the viola.
About Jordan Bak
Award-winning Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak is building an exciting international career as a trailblazing artist, praised for his radiant stage presence, dynamic interpretations, and fearless power. He is frequently in demand as a concerto soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and educator. The 2021 YCAT Robey Artist and a top laureate of the 2020 Sphinx Competition, Bak is also a Grand Prize winner and Audience Prize recipient of the 2019 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, the recipient of the 2019 Samuel Sanders Tel Aviv Museum Prize and the 2019 John White Special Prize from the Tertis International Viola Competition. In addition, Jordan Bak is a member of the celebrated New York Classical Players and is a featured artist for WQXR’s Artist Propulsion Lab.
Highlights of the 2021-2022 season include recital debuts at Wigmore Hall, Merkin Concert Hall & Baltimore’s Shriver Hall Concert Series, chamber music tours with Musicians from Marlboro and CAG on Tour, and new music commissions from such composers as Tyson Davis, Shawn Okpebholo & James Ra. He has been heard as a recitalist and chamber musician in the United States at such venues as Alice Tully Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium, Jordan Hall, and Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, among others, and in Europe at the Verbier Festival, the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, the Centre de Musique Hindemith, and the Helsinki Musiikkitalo.
A proud new music advocate, Bak gave the world premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s Du gick, flög for viola and mezzo-soprano and the viola premiere of Jessica Meyer’s Excessive Use of Force. He has additionally championed works by such composers as H. Leslie Adams, Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, Quinn Mason, Jeffrey Mumford, Caroline Shaw & Alvin Singleton. Bak has been a presence at numerous chamber music festivals including the legendary Marlboro Music Festival; he has collaborated and performed with top-level ensembles including Verona Quartet and Merz Trio, and such artists as Jonathan Biss, Lara Downes, Ani Kavafian, Keith Lockhart, Charles Neidich & Marina Piccinini.
A New York native, Jordan Bak holds degrees from New England Conservatory and The Juilliard School, having studied with Hsin-Yun Huang, Dimitri Murrath and Samuel Rhodes. Bak is jointly represented by Concert Artists Guild in New York and Young Classical Artists Trust in London. In addition to his performing schedule, he has been invited to serve as returning Viola Artist Faculty for the Classical Music Institute of San Antonio, as Guest Artist Speaker for the Children’s Orchestra Society in Long Island, and as a jury member for the Boulder Bach Festival’s 2020 World Bach Competition. Bak is on the faculty of Opportunity Music Project in New York and served as Teaching Assistant for The Juilliard School ACHT Viola Studio.
