About Us
Biography
Founded in 2010, The Last Stand Quartet brings together four of The National Symphony Orchestra’s musicians - violinists Joel Fuller and Derek Powell, violist Mahoko Eguchi and cellist Rachel Young - who each enjoy sharing their passion for chamber music and performing for a wide range of audiences.
Commended by The Washington Post for their “consistent refinement and interpretive restraint”, The Last Stand Quartet’s performance highlights include a sold-out concert for the Kennedy Center’s Fortas Chamber Music Series, the Odeon Chamber Music Series, a collaborative performance with Kentucky Shakespeare entitled Sonnets and Soliloquies, shows at the DC gathering place Busboys and Poets, Hip Hop Collaborations through The National Symphony Orchestra’s In Your Neighborhood initiative, frequent appearances on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and the Chamber Music Series at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
Along with many National Symphony colleagues, the quartet has collaborated with pianist Christoph Eschenbach, bassist Anthony Manzo, hip hop artist Asheru, Musicorps band member Roger Waters, poets of The Drawbridge Collection, and actors Reiko Aylesworth, Andre Braugher, Rob Clare, and Liev Schreiber.
The Last Stand Quartet’s members hold degrees in performance from the Indiana University, Juilliard, New England Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, Rice University - Shepherd School of Music, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Yale University. The LSQ’s name is inspired from its members (at the time of founding) being the most recent hires in each string section of The National Symphony, and sitting ‘in the last stand’ for the NSO’s official photographs based on seniority.
The LSQ’s mission is to share their genuine passion for chamber music, inspire new interest in classical music by performing in a wide range of venues, and to engage new listeners and reinvigorate familiar audiences through the string quartet art form.
Commended by The Washington Post for their “consistent refinement and interpretive restraint”, The Last Stand Quartet’s performance highlights include a sold-out concert for the Kennedy Center’s Fortas Chamber Music Series, the Odeon Chamber Music Series, a collaborative performance with Kentucky Shakespeare entitled Sonnets and Soliloquies, shows at the DC gathering place Busboys and Poets, Hip Hop Collaborations through The National Symphony Orchestra’s In Your Neighborhood initiative, frequent appearances on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and the Chamber Music Series at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
Along with many National Symphony colleagues, the quartet has collaborated with pianist Christoph Eschenbach, bassist Anthony Manzo, hip hop artist Asheru, Musicorps band member Roger Waters, poets of The Drawbridge Collection, and actors Reiko Aylesworth, Andre Braugher, Rob Clare, and Liev Schreiber.
The Last Stand Quartet’s members hold degrees in performance from the Indiana University, Juilliard, New England Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, Rice University - Shepherd School of Music, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Yale University. The LSQ’s name is inspired from its members (at the time of founding) being the most recent hires in each string section of The National Symphony, and sitting ‘in the last stand’ for the NSO’s official photographs based on seniority.
The LSQ’s mission is to share their genuine passion for chamber music, inspire new interest in classical music by performing in a wide range of venues, and to engage new listeners and reinvigorate familiar audiences through the string quartet art form.