Nearly a decade ago, violinist Stefan Jackiw, cellist Jay Campbell and pianist Conrad Tao decided to form the Junction Trio. Each has appeared separately at the 92nd Street Y Center for Culture & Arts in Manhattan, but on 1 November the supergroup makes its anticipated debut there with a programme combining two of the greatest works of the piano trio literature – the Brahms B major and Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No.2 – with the world premiere of John Zorn’s Philosophical Investigations II.
— Thomas May, The Strad

The most vibrant music so often takes place at the point where cultures meet, eras overlap, sensibilities intersect, and traditions fork. That in-between space is also the habitat of the aptly named Junction Trio, three stupendous musicians who glory in artistic instability, the sense that styles are not pure or settled practices and never were.

— Justin Davidson, Vulture

…their choices were as illuminating as the Weill Hall chandeliers…All three played with a unity to be envied by more seasoned ensembles.

— Harry Rollick, ConcertoNet

Why would three young classical musicians with successful solo touring careers form a trio as a side gig?

In 2015, pianist Conrad Tao, violinist Stefan Jackiw and cellist Jay Campbell launched Junction Trio for two key reasons: the music and the musicianship.

“There are so many astonishingly good pieces in the repertoire,” said Tao, now 29. “We wanted to play trios by Ravel and Beethoven. The piano-violin-cello combination has a very defined heterogeneous quality. It’s beautiful.”

The ‘new generation’ piano trio hosted by Chamber Music Pittsburgh will take the stage at the Pittsburgh Playhouse located in downtown Pittsburgh on Dec. 11… Jackiw and Tao recently took the time to share their musical journey and one of the many things they have in common is that they both began at a young age.

Carnegie Hall announced programming for their 2023-24 season on February 28, including approximately 170 concerts by many of the world’s leading artists and ensembles, serving audiences in New York City and beyond. As part of their programming, Carnegie will present the Junction Trio on May 3, 2024, with works by Zorn, Ives, and Beethoven.

The young, New York-based musicians are no stranger to Celebrity Series Boston, but this is their first time together as an ensemble for the presenter.

The conjoined players, individually virtuosic, elegant, poetic, bel canto, and fierce, came up to Celebrity Series expectations in every respect...

The cellist Jay Campbell played with a firm yet flexible tone, and violinist Stefan Jackiw was resourceful throughout and especially eloquent in the stormy climaxes of the Schumann.

… a wonderful showcase for the idiosyncratic Junction Trio, an ensemble that… knows neither stylistic nor musical boundaries.

This young, superstar trio is capable of being as cool as it is fiery, and the performers’ strengths bring out the best in each other.

Encountering a “new generation” trio approach this music last night was, at least for this old-timer, a real treat from beginning to end.

Jackiw, 37, says he doesn’t mind sharing the bill. “It’s a pleasure to play with two people who have made me grow so much as a musician, expanding my taste and also my thinking about rehearsing and interpreting great music. Being in a trio has been a dream of mine since my 20s.”

The phenomenon of the supergroup—comprised of prominent artists and sometimes fueled by clashing egos—has surfaced in every major genre, from rock and opera to chamber music. It wasn’t on the agenda of violinist Stefan Jackiw, cellist Jay Campbell, and pianist Conrad Tao when they gathered at Tao’s Manhattan apartment in late 2015 to read through Mendelssohn’s D minor piano trio. But out of this meetup grew the Junction Trio, and the label of classical music supergroup began to stick.

The trio formed by pianist and composer Conrad Tao, violinist Stefan Jackiw, and cellist Jay Campbell is a grouping of hyper-rarefied talents, but by performing with the Peoples’ Symphony Concerts, they join a long tradition of democratizing classical music.

Bachtrack rated the trio’s 2021 Cleveland performance as “one of the best things you've seen this year.”

The trio sat down with Jarrett Hoffman of ClevelandClassical.com ahead of their May 11, 2021 recital with the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, discussing the upcoming concert program as well as the origins of the group.

As part of WQXR’s Artist Propulsion Lab, the Junction Trio performed on Morning Edition and joined WNYC's Michael Hill to talk about how the three of them originally got connected, and how they now stay connected to their audiences through this long pandemic period.

The Junction Trio was selected by WQXR to be part of their inaugural Artist Propulsion Lab, which allowed them to engage collaborators and commission works. The opportunity also allows them to take advantage of WQXR’s various outlets to reach audiences, too, via Greene Space performances, on-air curation opportunities, and more

Though from different eras, the well-made program builds momentum with the linear accumulation of excitement as if the listener were there.