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He is also a frequent guest concertmaster for the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra and a visiting professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China. In 2012, Fu won the first prize in the 31st Rodolfo Lipizer International Violin Competition in Italy as well as four special prizes. He also holds the top prizes from the 2011 Schmidbauer International Competition, the 2009 Washington International Music Competition, and the 2008 HAMS Violin Competition in Chicago. His music making includes performances in many major cities in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Originally from Shanghai, China, Fu started to play violin at the age of three. He went on to earn his bachelor of music from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China and earned his master of music from the Shepherd School of Music with professor Sergiu Luca at Rice University in the United States. After two years of a doctoral program with professor Cho-Liang Lin and Sergiu Luca at the Shepherd School of Music, he joined the renowned Cleveland Orchestra in August of 2011.

With his great enthusiasm for chamber music, Fu has participated in many renowned summer music festivals, including Marlboro Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany, and the Taos Chamber Music Festival in which he has worked and performed with many great musicians, including pianists Richard Goode and Mitsuko Uchida; cellist Peter Wiley; violists Kim Kashkashian, Samuel Rhodes, and Michael Tre; and the Shanghai Quartet, Borromeo String Quartet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, and the Brentano String Quartet with pianist Robert McDonald.

Distinguished by his talents and leadership, Fu has served as the concertmaster of Schleswig-Holstein Symphony Orchestra in Germany, where he performed under Maestro Christoph Eschenbach and Valery Gergiev. He has also served as the guest concertmaster for Houston Symphony and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Fu has served as a jury member for many young artist music competitions, including Greenfield Competition, and a faculty member for the Calvin String Summit in Michigan, the Philadelphia International Music Festival, the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute at the Kennedy Center, as well as the National Youth Orchestra of America.

Fu has been an active violin teacher since 2002. Fu was a teaching assistant while pursuing his master's and doctoral degrees at Rice University in Houston. During this time, he formed his own studio of 18 students, ranging from four-year-old children to adults. During his six years in Philadelphia, Fu focused on helping young violinists become professionals. His students have been accepted by such renowned institutions as the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, New England Conservatory in Boston, The Juilliard School in New York City, and Indiana University. Fu has given many master classes all over the world. As he describes, teaching others is a fantastic way to teach himself. He currently lives in McLean, Virginia.

Shortly before graduation, Hepler began her professional career, winning the concertmaster position with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. From there, Hepler has held numerous titled positions, including concertmaster of Opera Philadelphia, assistant concertmaster of the Pennsylvania Ballet and Harrisburg Symphony orchestras, assistant concertmaster of the Grant Park Orchestra, as well as being a member of the second violin section of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.

In addition to Hepler’s positions, she was a regular substitute with the Philadelphia Orchestra and performed with them on numerous international tours throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. She has also been a substitute musician with the Baltimore, Indianapolis, and National Symphony Orchestras. As a student, she spent two summers with the Verbier Festival Orchestra and two summers at the chamber music festival Music from Angel Fire. Hepler has enjoyed performing chamber music with artists such as the Lincoln Trio, Ida Kavafian, Steven Tenenbom, Roberto Diaz with Curtis on Tour, and Jeremy Denk. She can be heard on studio recordings with artists such as Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Meek Mill, Jennifer Lopez, Daughtry, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, and on multiple NFL Films projects.

Hepler resides in Maryland with her husband, Nate Hepler, who holds the second trumpet position with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Foster is a member of the critically acclaimed Dryden Quartet, along with his cousins Nicolas and Yumi Kendall, and NSO concertmaster Nurit Bar-Josef, and is also a founding member of the Kennedy Center Chamber Players.

Foster is on the faculty at the University of Maryland and has given master classes at Oberlin and Peabody Conservatories, the University of Michigan, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has been a faculty member for the National Orchestral Institute and is a member of the International Principals faculty at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan.

Wicker has given recitals in Europe (including Switzerland, Germany, and Greece) and throughout the United States. She has appeared as soloist with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle and the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn. Wicker is active as a chamber musician and has taught viola at Western Michigan University and Andrews University. For two seasons she served as principal violist of the Kalamazoo Symphony and was a member of the Oregon Symphony prior to joining the National Symphony Orchestra.

When he was 21 years old, Hardy won the certificate in the prestigious Geneva International Cello Competition. The next year, he was graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Laurence Lesser, Stephen Kates, and Berl Senofsky. In 1981, he was appointed to the National Symphony Orchestra as associate principal cello by its then music director, Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1994, Hardy was named principal cello of the NSO by its next music director, Leonard Slatkin. Hardy made his solo debut with the National Symphony Orchestra in 1986 with Mstislav Rostropovich conducting. A regular soloist with the NSO, Hardy, in 2004, gave the world premiere performance, with Leonard Slatkin conducting, of Stephen Jaffe's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, which was commissioned by the John and June Hechinger Fund for New Orchestral Works. Hardy gave the European premiere of the Jaffe concerto in Slovenia in 2007. Bridge Records released the premiere recording of the concerto with Hardy and the Odense Symphony of Denmark.

The National Symphony Orchestra recording of John Corigliano's Symphony No. 1 featuring Hardy's solo cello performance won the 1996 Grammy Award® for Best Classical Album. Another recent recording—in collaboration with NSO principal keyboard Lambert Orkis—is Beethoven Past & Present, consisting of two complete performances of Beethoven's eight works for piano and cello, performed on both modern and period instruments. Hardy is a founding member of the Opus 3 Trio with violinist Charles Wetherbee and pianist Lisa Emenheiser. The Opus 3 Trio has since performed to critical acclaim across the country and has commissioned, premiered, and recorded many new works. Hardy is also a founding member of the Kennedy Center Chamber Players. Additionally, Hardy was cellist of the 20th Century Consort in Washington, D.C., where he premiered works by Stephen Albert, Nicholas Maw, and Joseph Schwantner. Hardy's playing can be heard on recordings under the Melodyia, Educo, RCA, London, Centaur, and Delos labels.

Critics in Washington and beyond have praised his virtuosic technique and deep musical sensitivity. Hardy's instruments were made by Carlo Giuseppe Testore in 1694 and Raymond Hardy in 2000.

In addition to his performing schedule, Hardy is professor of cello at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland.

He also enjoys performing chamber music with the Kennedy Center Chamber Players and has collaborated with other prestigious musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, Hilary Hahn, Joseph Kalichstein, and the Guarneri String Quartet. He attended North Carolina School of the Arts and enjoyed inspirational summers at Brevard and Tanglewood music festivals.

In 2006, Oppelt released a CD entitled The Double Bass - Robert Oppelt and Friends (with other NSO members) through MSR Classics, which features a mix of solo and ensemble works for the double bass. The CD was praised by Fanfare magazine. It is also a support project for ALS disease. He issued an Encore! CD in 2019, which in part benefits the Anti-Defamation League.

Oppelt’s hobbies include hiking, camping, and sailing the Chesapeake Bay.

In 2012, Cigan premiered Donald Crockett's Dance Concerto with the 21st Century Consort and performed a special wind ensemble version of the piece with the University of Maryland Wind Orchestra in 2015. Prior to the NSO, Cigan held principal posts with the San Antonio Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and Virginia Symphony.

An active teacher in the Washington, D.C., area, Cigan is currently on the faculty of The University of Maryland at College Park. He is also active in the NSO education department, instructing members of the Youth Fellowship Program and Summer Music Institute.

Other activities include performing at the Halcyon Music Festival and Grand Teton Music Festival and teaching at the University of Maryland National Orchestral Institute and the Philadelphia International Music Festival. Cigan studied with Anthony Gigliotti, former principal clarinetist of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and David Breeden, former principal clarinetist of the San Francisco Symphony. Cigan is a graduate of Temple University.

Recent releases include The Silver Album, celebrating 25 years of their artistic partnership, The Club Album issued in both CD and video formats, and a performance of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano in commemoration of the composer’s 85th birthday.

Orkis has premiered and recorded compositions by numerous composers for Bridge Records, including solo works written for him by George Crumb, Richard Wernick, and James Primosch. With NSO Principal Cello David Hardy, Orkis performs Beethoven’s cycle of works for piano and cello on the Sono Luminus label. He appears regularly at the most prestigious festivals throughout the world, such as the Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals, and recently returned to Sydney as distinguished performing artist and teacher for Australia Musica Viva Festival. He performs and has recorded as a member of the Kennedy Center Chamber Players and the Smithsonian Institution's Castle Trio (period instruments), and holds the positions of principal keyboard of the National Symphony Orchestra and professor of piano at Temple University in Philadelphia. The Federal Republic of Germany has bestowed upon Orkis the Cross of the Order of Merit in acknowledgment of his accomplishments.

Her trio has been invited to present their unique model to institutions such as the Peabody Institute and Carnegie Mellon University, and have returned as advisors to the Community Engagement Program at Peabody Institute. Their approach has been featured in podcasts, webinars, and articles including the Journal of Chamber Music America. Oh is a co-author of an article published in the Journal of Arts and Health about the innovative methods used to connect musicians to the community during the pandemic.

Additionally, Jiyoung Oh is an active chamber musician, performing on stages in the D.C area and beyond, including collaborations with members of the NSO, and frequently playing as the pianist of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra.

Jiyoung Oh has been a long-time educator, having taught at James Madison University, Lewis and Clark College, and Indiana University’s Secondary Piano. She was on the piano faculty of the Levine School of Music for over a decade. Oh is frequently invited as a guest clinician, lecturer, and adjudicator for chamber music and piano in the greater Washington area. Jiyoung Oh holds a doctorate from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where she was awarded the Chancellor’s Fellow to study with Menahem Pressler of the Beaux Arts Trio. She received her master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music. Prior to the U.S., Oh spent her childhood years studying at the Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto, Canada. Of Korean-Canadian heritage, Oh was born in London, England and recently became a U.S. citizen.