Lafayette String Quartet
string quartet
In July 1986, four young musicians, based in Detroit and just beginning their professional careers, performed together for the first time as the Lafayette String Quartet. Today the LSQ continues to flourish with its original personnel: violinists Ann Elliott-Goldschmid and Sharon Stanis, violist Joanna Hood, and cellist Pamela Highbaugh Aloni. After an initial sojourn in Detroit, In 1991, the four women became artists-in-residence at the University of Victoria’s School of Music, in British Columbia—positions they still hold today. They received honorary doctorates from University Canada West and were honoured with the inaugural Craigdarroch Award for Excellence in Artistic Expression in 2010 from the University of Victoria. The four women also maintain separate careers as solo and chamber-music performers, teachers, and adjudicators. 2023 will mark their final year of touring.
The Lafayette is the only all-female ensemble in the world to comprise the four original members – a distinct rarity, regardless of gender and regardless of profession.
