Wednesday, May 7, 2025 | Boston

Hosted by From the Top’s Peter Dugan with Special Guest Artist Paquito D’Rivera

Who’s Who

PC: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco

Peter Dugan, Host, From the Top  prizes versatility as the hallmark of today’s musician and advocates for a classical music culture that is inclusive and welcoming to all. That approach has manifested in a multifaceted and dynamic career as a pianist, composer, collaborator, and radio host. Peter is heard on radios nationwide weekly as host of NPR’s From the Top. A musician equally at home in classical, jazz, and pop idioms, he has appeared as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician across North America and around the world. He has collaborated with Michael Tilson Thomas and San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony with Andrés Orozco-Estrada, MTT at the New World Symphony and has made other orchestra appearances with the Kansas City Symphony, New Albany Symphony, Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Johnstown Symphony, and Annapolis Chamber Orchestra. Peter is an active and passionate collaborator who has toured extensively with violinists Joshua Bell and Charles Yang, and vocalists John Brancy and Kara Dugan (his wife)—partnerships which have resulted in recording projects, documentaries, music videos, and a first-prize win at the Montreal Competition. He also regularly performs with other friends and artists who share a passion for expanding the world of classical music, from Jesse Colin Young to Renee Fleming to Paquito D’Rivera to Itzhak Perlman. As a composer, Peter has performed his own works everywhere from Carnegie Hall to Joe’s Pub, and his arrangements have been released by Disney+. He is co-writing with his brother Leonardo Dugan a new piano concerto, set to debut in spring 2026, and collaborates with his colleagues to create electrifying arrangements of pop music. Supportive of new music, he has worked with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble and presented several world premieres. Peter is also comfortable jamming and improvising on piano and melodica with the likes of bassist Victor Wooten, violinists Tessa Lark and Charles Yang, and actress Glenn Close. Peter Dugan holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where he studied under Matti Raekallio. He is a Yamaha Artist. 

PC: Geandy Pavon

Paquito D’Rivera has won a combined 16 Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards (5 Grammy and 11 Latin Grammys). He is celebrated both for his artistry in Latin jazz and his achievements as a classical composer. Born in Havana, Cuba, he performed at age 10 with the National Theater Orchestra, studied at the Havana Conservatory of Music, and at 17, became a featured soloist with the Cuban National Symphony. As a founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, he directed that group for two years, while at the same time playing both the clarinet and saxophone with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra. He eventually went on to premiere several works by notable Cuban composers with the same orchestra. Additionally, he was a founding member and co-director of the innovative musical ensemble Irakere. With its explosive mixture of jazz, rock, classical and traditional Cuban music never before heard, Irakere toured extensively throughout America and Europe, received several GRAMMY nominations (1979, 1980), and a GRAMMY (1979). His numerous recordings include more than 30 solo albums. While Paquito’s discography reflects a dedication and enthusiasm for Jazz, Bebop and Latin music, his contributions to classical music are impressive. They include solo performances with the London Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He has also performed with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, the Costa Rica National Symphony, the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, and the St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra, among others. In his passion to bring Latin repertoire to greater prominence, Mr. D’Rivera has successfully created, championed and promoted all types of classical compositions. In addition to his extraordinary performing career as an instrumentalist, Mr. D’Rivera has rapidly gained a reputation as an accomplished composer. In 1999, and in celebration of its 500-year history, the Universidad de Alcala de Henares presented Paquito with a special award recognizing his contribution to the arts, his humane qualities, and his defense of rights and liberties of artists around the world. The National Endowment for the Arts website affirms “he has become the consummate multinational ambassador, creating and promoting a cross-culture of music that moves effortlessly among jazz, Latin, and Mozart.” Learn more at paquitodrivera.com.

PC: Jacob Blickenstaff

Mezzo soprano Kara Dugan has been praised by The New York Times for her “vocal warmth and rich character.” Her diverse career ranges from baroque oratorio to world premieres. Recent seasons include recitals at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, New York Festival of Song, New York City’s Century Club, Festival Napa Valley, and the White Mountains Music Festival with members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. This summer season she sang at the Metropolitan Opera House in a seven show run of American Ballet Theater’s production of Christopher Wheeldon and Joby Tablot’s Like Water for Chocolate. Ms. Dugan has made debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Buffalo Philharmonic. She performed with the New World Symphony under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas in the world premiere of his Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind and in the New York premiere of the piece at Carnegie Hall. She has performed with the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Aspen Music Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, and at venues ranging from National Sawdust to Alice Tully Hall. As a passionate recitalist she performs often with her husband Peter Dugan, pianist and host of NPR’s From the Top. The husband and wife duo were recently featured on PBS Great Performances’ “Now Hear This” and have performed across the United States, including at the Joye in Aiken Festival, Moab Music Festival, Portland Chamber Music Festival, and WQXR’s Greene Space.The duo’s eclectic repertoire has brought them to a wide range of venues from Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater to Sun Valley’s Argyros Theater, where they joined genre-defying string group Time for Three. Ms. Dugan received her Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees from The Juilliard School. She is a proud recipient of the Novick Career Advancement Grant.

Brandon Fu is an 18-year-old saxophonist originally from Philadelphia, now residing in Weston, Massachusetts. A dedicated musician and student at Phillips Academy Andover (PA), Brandon has been immersed in music throughout his life. He began playing the clarinet ten years ago and picked up the saxophone five years ago. Currently, he performs with the New England Conservatory Preparatory School’s Youth Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Robert Nieske, and he is the principal saxophonist in the PA Jazz Ensemble and the principal clarinetist in the Chamber and Symphony Orchestras and the Wind Ensemble. Brandon was featured in the 2022 Massachusetts All-State and District festivals. In 2023, Brandon was the National YoungArts Award winner for jazz saxophone. His musical journey also took him abroad, where he performed for in Portugal, as part of Phillips Academy’s “Learning in the World” concert series. Brandon founded and is president of PA Big Blue Note, which brings jazz to the Andover community through professional artist masterclasses, jazz history discussions, and performances. Brandon is most proud of co-founding the band “The Repercussions,” creating the largest student-run show on campus. Outside of music, Brandon is a varsity athlete on PA’s men’s volleyball team, a prefect, and a cluster representative on the student leadership council. He is also an avid creative writer, having participated in GrubStreet’s YAWP fellowship in 2024. Brandon currently gigs around Boston for various functions, including birthdays, weddings, and corporate events.

Cellist Caleb Graupera, 19, hails from Weston, Massachusetts and is a current student at Harvard University. He has studied with Emmanuel Feldman. At an early age, Caleb began his musical career on the marimba, the national instrument of Guatemala, and he was drawn to the cello through his school program at the age of 9. As a soloist, Caleb has performed Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Brockton and Quincy Symphony Orchestras as first prize winner of  their respective competitions. In 2023, he was also awarded the MPower Artist Grant from the Sphinx Organization. Caleb is also passionate about ensemble playing, having served as principal cellist of the Boston Youth Symphony, MMEA Senior District, and Weston High School orchestras, in addition to participating in the All-State Orchestra and Jazz Band. As a chamber musician, Caleb is a proud member of Boston BEAM and the Project STEP Honors Cello Ensemble, regularly performing at Symphony Hall and the Shalin Liu Performance Center, with a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Caleb has cherished his summers at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and Sphinx Performance Academy at the Juilliard School. Caleb toured the Dominican Republic with the National Youth Orchestra (NYO2), and also joined the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra in their five-city tour of South Africa. Outside of cello, Caleb served as class president throughout high school and director of the worship ministry at his spanish-speaking church. He also enjoys pole vaulting, history, and reading.

Julia LaGrand is a violinist and disability activist from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has soloed with orchestras including the Holland Symphony, Kent Philharmonic and Baroque on Beaver Festival Orchestra, and has played in masterclasses for violinists including Midori and Stefan Jackiw. In 2020, she won first prize at the Bella International Music Competition, and was a winner of the Kennedy Center’s 2024 International Young Musicians Competition. After appearing on From the Top in 2021, she later co-hosted and co-created an episode of this show featuring young disabled musicians, which was featured in the Boston Globe as one of the “10 Most Memorable Classical Music Moments of 2023.” Based in Boston, she attends Harvard University’s dual degree program with New England Conservatory, and performs with local ensembles and organizations including Shelter Music Boston and the Berklee Inclusion Ensemble. She currently studies with Miriam Fried.

Masanobu Pires is a 14-year-old pianist from Sharon, Massachusetts. In 2022, he appeared on NPR’s From the Top, hosted by pianist Orli Shaham. Masa studies piano with Ms. Haesun Paik at New England Conservatory Preparatory School. He is also a part of the Chamber Music Intensive Performance Seminar program at NEC Prep. Masanobu has received several awards in competitions and festivals. Some notable awards include First Prize in the New England Conservatory Preparatory School Concerto Competition and Second Prize in the Ruth Monte Bach Competition which was hosted by the American Bach Society at Notre Dame University. He performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C Major K. 467, with the New England Conservatory Youth Repertory Orchestra in Jordan Hall in May 2023. Masa will participate in the 29^th Morningside Music Bridge festival in July, 2025. Then he will be a rising freshman at Walnut Hill School for the Arts this fall. Aside from his musical studies, Masa is an avid reader of town reports.

Special thanks to WBUR.

Thank you to Yamaha Artist Services and Falcetti Pianos.

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