MCDUFFIE CENTER FOR STRINGS AT MERCER UNIVERSITY WELCOMES NEW DISTINGUISHED ARTIST STEFAN JACKIW

October 30, 2025—The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University’s School of Music in Macon, Georgia is excited to welcome internationally acclaimed violinist Stefan Jackiw to the faculty as a distinguished artist for the upcoming 2026 fall semester. With Jackiw’s addition to the faculty, Center for Strings founder Robert McDuffie will transition to mentoring and coaching all disciplines within the Center, while distinguished artist David Kim, concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will continue his focus on orchestral playing, also with the entire student body. Jackiw will join Artistic Director Amy Schwartz Moretti in co-instructing the violin studio.

“It is an honor and a joy to join the faculty of the McDuffie Center for Strings,” notes Jackiw. Of his recent visit to the McDuffie Center during which he worked with violin students in an artist class and took in a performance of the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra, he goes on, “During my recent visit, I was deeply impressed by the excellence, dedication and commitment of the students, as well as the nurturing environment of the school. I am also thrilled to teach alongside some of the world’s leading pedagogues and concert artists. My sincere thanks go to founder Robert McDuffie and artistic director Amy Schwartz Moretti for welcoming me to the Center. I look forward to exploring the treasures of the violin repertoire with the students!”

Moretti says, “Music flourishes with collaboration, and I’m delighted to welcome Stefan to co-teach the violin studio with me. Together, we look forward to inspiring the students and nurturing this next generation of musicians.” McDuffie adds, “It’s a privilege and a joy to welcome Stefan to the McDuffie Center family. He’s not only one of the world’s greatest violinists, he’s an insightful and profound teacher, as well. He and Amy will make a powerful team, and our violin students will be the fortunate beneficiaries.”

ABOUT STEFAN JACKIW

Stefan Jackiw is one of America’s foremost violinists, captivating audiences with playing that combines poetry and purity with an impeccable technique. Hailed for playing of “uncommon musical substance” that is “striking for its intelligence and sensitivity” (Boston Globe), Jackiw has appeared as soloist with the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco symphony orchestras, among others. Abroad, Jackiw has appeared with such ensembles as the London Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic and the Tokyo Philharmonic. He regularly performs at important festivals and concert series, including the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival, the Celebrity Series of Boston, the Philharmonie de Paris and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

An active chamber musician, Jackiw is a member of the Junction Trio, together with pianist Conrad Tao and cellist Jay Campbell. Jackiw’s discography includes the complete Brahms violin sonatas on Sony, and a forthcoming recording of the complete Ives violin sonatas with his frequent collaborator, pianist Jeremy Denk. Jackiw also recently recorded the Beethoven Triple concerto with cellist Alisa Weilerstein, pianist Inon Barnatan, and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, conducted by Alan Gilbert and released on Decca.

Jackiw is also a committed teacher. He frequently gives masterclasses at prestigious conservatories and universities, such as the Colburn School, Harvard University, University of Michigan, Bard College, Manhattan School of Music, Vanderbilt University, Sydney Conservatorium and the Australian National Academy of Music. In 2020, Jackiw started a free monthly online masterclass series, called Stefan’s Sessions, in which he leads an analysis of one of the masterpieces of the violin repertoire, addressing matters of interpretation, technical solutions, historical context and performance preparation. Each session features three outstanding violin students, selected through online video application, who perform excerpts of the repertoire live on Zoom. Stefan’s Sessions has drawn over 500 attendants and has fostered an online community for serious violin students from around the world. Jackiw holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University as well as an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory. His teachers have included Zinaida Gilels, Michèle Auclair, and Donald Weilerstein. He is the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

ABOUT ROBERT MCDUFFIE CENTER FOR STRINGS

The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings, a special institute within the School of Music at Mercer University, is a highly selective program that prepares string students for success in the real world. Students study with some of America’s most renowned musicians. Each student receives a full-tuition scholarship while earning a well-rounded education from a comprehensive, nationally recognized university. The McDuffie Center consistently sends students to the top graduate schools including Juilliard, Curtis, Yale, the New England Conservatory, University of Michigan and Northwestern University. McDuffie students have won top prizes at the Hong Kong Generation Next Arts International Competition, the Gaspar Cassado International Cello Competition in Tokyo, the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Aspen Music Festival Concerto Competition, Brevard Music Festival Concerto Competition, and have been laureates in the Tchaikovsky (Moscow) and Queen Elizabeth (Brussels) competitions. After just 12 years of graduates matriculating into the professional ranks of classical music, Center students have gone on to win positions with some of the top chamber music groups and symphony orchestras around the world, including cellist with the Shanghai Quartet, first violin with the Berlin Philharmonic, principal bass with the Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester in Sweden, principal violin with the San Francisco Symphony, as well as positions with the Houston, St. Louis and Phoenix symphony orchestras, and many others. For more information and a complete listing of this season's concerts, visit the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings website or call (478) 301-2886.

ABOUT MERCER UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. With more than 9,000 students enrolled in 12 schools and colleges, on major campuses in Macon and Atlanta; medical school sites in Macon, Savannah and Columbus; and at regional academic centers in Henry and Douglas counties, Mercer is ranked among the top tier of national research universities by U.S. News & World Report. The Mercer Health Sciences Center includes the University’s School of Medicine and Colleges of Nursing, Health Professions and Pharmacy. Mercer is affiliated with five teaching hospitals—Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah; The Medical Center, Navicent Health, and Coliseum Medical Centers in Macon; and Midtown Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. The University also has an educational partnership with Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in Warner Robins. It operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer is one of only 286 institutions nationwide to shelter a chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society; one of eight institutions to hold membership in the Georgia Research Alliance; and the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program.

For more information, please contact Joe Cohen or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.