Peter Dugan is a pianist whose style has been described as 'fearlessly athletic,' due to his frenetic playing and animated facial expressions. He's also the host of From the Top, a show that celebrates and empowers young classical musicians, which you can hear on KAZU's classical station weekend afternoons.
Dugan is performing along with his friend, clarinetist Mark Dover, at a centennial gala for the Carmel Music Society on Aug. 28 at the Sandbox in Sand City. I spoke with Dugan in KAZU's Green Room, and he began by telling me how he got his start in music:
"I have older brothers, and my older brothers played music, so it was always sort of around in the house. Before I was five, I was already playing the piano. So I don't remember a time without it. And I always loved it. It's just what I wanted to do. I don't think there was ever a question. Actually, I was a relatively late bloomer compared to a lot of the classical musicians who I talk to on From the Top. I mean, I didn't really get serious until like 15 years old or something like that. I went to Juilliard and then moved to New York and did two degrees there. And I've lived in the New York area ever since."
Click the audio player at the top of this story to listen to the interview or read the highlights below. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Dugan on how he got his start on From The Top:
"I was on the show when I was 18 years old. I had applied a few times before that and didn't make the cut. But I got on the show when I was 18, and it was a dream come true. I stayed in touch. I've always been a sort of verbal person, but I never thought I'd get into hosting radio. That just kind of came about. The stars kind of aligned. And in 2018, I was part of a rotation of guest hosts. And then in 2020, I was announced as the
permanent host."
Dugan on why he loves hosting From the Top:
"It's great because it gives me this sense of mission in all my work, which is to really do my best to not just give [young musicians] a platform, which is a huge part of what From the Top is, but I also try to think about what those things were that I encountered in my own experience in the classical music culture growing up that that I would want to change. And I view every interaction I have with a young musician as a possibility to try to, in whatever small way I can, leave the classical music scene a little healthier and a little more humane than it was when I went through it.
I just try to encourage everyone to prize creativity and individuality and to be bold with how they embrace their own voice."
Dugan on what audiences can expect if they go to see him perform with clarinetist Mark Dover at the Carmel Music Society Gala at The Sandbox:
"Mark [Dover] is one of the most amazing musicians on the planet, in my opinion. He's [also] a beautiful human being. We've been friends for many years. But he is a guy who can do it all. He's the clarinetist in Imani Winds, which is one of the great wind quintets in the world. He's also a ridiculous jazz player. He plays with the band Vulfpeck — if any of you have heard the song "Back Pocket," that's him on the clarinet solo there.
"So he really can do it all. And he plays with so much soul. So we're going to do a program that includes everything from Brahms and Poulenc to some jazz standards and some originals that we've written. It's going to be a very eclectic evening."
Peter Dugan is a pianist and host of the classical music show "From the Top," which you can hear weekend afternoons on KAZU's classical station, streaming at kazu.org.
He is performing along with his good friend clarinetist Mark Dover at a centennial gala for the Carmel Music Society at the Sandbox in Sand City on Friday, Aug. 28.