This weekend, the JACK Quartet will electrify the Iowa City community in a concert that will feature works of UI student composers.

The University of Iowa String Quartet Residency Program and the Center for New Music partnered to bring the quartet to campus.

The JACK Quartet with perform a free public performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Riverside Recital Hall.

The concert will feature clarinetist Derek Bermel, who is part of JACK’s residency at the UI School of Music.

The residency with the quartet will include master classes and public presentations and provide an opportunity for students to work directly with the musicians.

In the past, the concert has proved to be popular among UI students with more than 200 attendees at last year’s event — the majority being students.

The JACK Quartet is the recipient of the New Music USA’s 2013 Trailblazer Award, and the group has performed in venues all over the world including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

The quartet is focused on the commissioning and performance of new works, which eventually leads it to working closely with numerous composers. JACK also hopes to broaden its potential audience for new music by participating in educational presentations all over the country.

JACK has previously led workshops at Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Columbia University, and now the UI.

— by Samantha Gentry