Derek Powell joined the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) in 2020, appointed by Music Director Gianandrea Noseda. Each summer since 2018, Powell has performed in the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra in Jackson, Wyoming and has previously performed in the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in Verbier, Switzerland.

Powell is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of musicians. He coaches and leads masterclasses with students from around the country for both the NSO’s Youth Fellowship program and the highly selective orchestral training program, Summer Music Institute. As a member of the Last Stand String Quartet, Powell co-created and performed “Math x Music,” a concert-length performance for grade school–age audiences and their families that explores the intersection of math and music. It premiered in the Kennedy Center’s Family Theatre in 2025.

As a versatile and sought-after musician, Powell frequently collaborates with esteemed chamber ensembles including the 21st Century Consort, National Chamber Players, Inscape, and Sound Impact, a pioneering music collective harnessing music’s transformative power to drive positive social change. Powell’s work with Sound Impact includes multiple transformative residencies with incarcerated youth combining music and youth driven artistic self-expression culminating in emotional collaborative performances.

Prior to joining the NSO, Powell served his country with distinction as a Staff Sergeant violinist in the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” where he performed at high-profile events, including White House state visits and congressional functions. Before his military service, Powell won a coveted position as a fellow in the New World Symphony, the nation’s most prestigious orchestral training program, under the guidance of visionary music director and founder Michael Tilson-Thomas. 

Powell earned a Master of Music from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he was awarded the coveted Distinguished Fellowship in Violin. He also attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned a Bachelor of Science with honors in both neurobiology and music. Powell’s primary pedagogues include Kathleen Winkler, David Perry, Felicia Moye, and Eugene Purdue.