Aurelia performs on Show 441.

Aurelia Faidley-Solars (cello), 13, hails from New York, New York and has garnered international attention as a young concert artist.  Aurelia currently studies at the Juilliard School of Music and is the recipient of The Jacobs Scholarship of Music.  She is a very proud member of the Beare’s International Violin Society.

Aurelia made her orchestral debut with the Amati Orchestra in Lausanne, Switzerland, receiving nine curtain calls for her performance of Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major.  She has also performed with the New Hampshire Philharmonic, the Fox Valley Symphony in Chicago, the Ashland Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, the Sempre Musick Symphony in Boston, the Metropolitan Symphony of New York, the Montgomery Symphony in Ohio, the NJ Virtuosi Sinfonietta in New Jersey, the SEEN Orchestra in Chicago, and the Manhattan Sinfonietta.  As a soloist, Aurelia has appeared in Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and London.

Aurelia is the youngest prizewinner in the history of The Ronald Sachs International Competition, as well as the three-time New Eastern regionals winner for the Music Teachers’ National Association.  She was also awarded the prestigious Aaron Rosand Memorial Prize and is the 2023 Menges Scholarship recipient.  Aurelia is the youngest finalist in the history for the Artist Presentation Society and was the only student featured in a solo performance celebrating the 130th Anniversary of the New World Symphony, a joint project between the United States and The Czech Republic. Aurelia was the 2023 soloist chosen for the “Young Artists Performers” series in South Carolina, and has toured throughout the northeastern and southeastern United States.

Aurelia currently studies with Fred Sherry.  Her major pedagogical influences include Diego Garcia, her very first teacher, and Hans Jorgen Jensen, her long-time teacher and mentor.  She has studied with or appeared in masterclasses with Laurence Lesser, Richard Aaron, Darrett Adkins, Brannon Cho, Phillipe Muller, David Finckel, Ralph Kirschbaum, Amit Peled, Stephen Doane, Rosemary Elliot, Peter Stumpf, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Clive Greensmith, Matt Haimovitz, Zvi Plesser, Tomasz Strahl, Andres Diaz, Lluis Claret, and Tao Ni, and Pablo Ferrandez.  Other major influences include John-Henry Crawford and Zlatomir Fung.   In the summer of 2023, Aurelia attended Morningside Music Bridge and in 2022, she attended the Meadowmount School of Music.

Besides cello, Aurelia is a dedicated ballet dancer, studying in the Pre-Professional division at the School of American Ballet.  She has performed featured roles in the New York City Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” and “A Midsummer’s Night Dream”.  In 2023, she attended the Royal Ballet School’s Summer Intensive Program in London.  She loves art of all kinds, singing, and animals.  In 2023, Aurelia became a Congressional Award winner for visual arts.  She owns a 2- year old crested gecko named “Autumn”.

Peter was named Host of From the Top in January 2020.

Peter Dugan’s position is sponsored by Susan and Gerald Slavet.

Peter first appeared on From the Top Show 158, recorded in April 2007, at age 18.

Peter Dugan 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.

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. His performance of the Ives Fourth Symphony with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas was described by the Los Angeles Times as “stunning” and by the San Francisco Chronicle as “fearlessly athletic” and was recorded for release; he repeated the Ives project in a series of four concerts for the Houston Symphony with Andrés Orozco-Estrada. He had previously collaborated with 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 heard on radios nationwide weekly as host of NPR’s From the Top. His approach stems from his commitment to sharing classical music through his warm-hearted openness to young voices; and in addition to hosting the show, he leads inspiring collaborations, conversations, and performances with the young artists. Classical Sonoma observed: “Mr. Dugan’s seemingly inexhaustible energy, combined with a dedicated teacher’s heart and musical artistry, is inspiring to observe… That geniality and dynamism translates directly into his music making. One gets the feeling that he is reaching out for that magic, elusive connection. And he succeeds.”

He’s 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 also 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.

In 2020, he joined acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell for At Home With Music, a national PBS broadcast and live album release on Sony Classical. Since then, he has continued his collaboration with Joshua, touring internationally with recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall, Taipei’s National Theater and Concert Hall, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In Fall 2024, the duo performs across the United States, South America, and Australia.

The Wall Street Journal described Peter’s collaboration with violinist and vocalist Charles Yang as a “classical-meets-rockstar duo.” Their creativity has resulted in a musical comedy show with violist and Tonight Show veteran Isabel Hagen.

Peter’s latest album with baritone John Brancy—The Journey Home: Live from the Kennedy Center—was released on Avie Records in 2021, along with an accompanying documentary film from WNET’s AllArts. They have given recitals together at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center, and together won first prize at the 2018 Montreal International Music Competition. Peter’s latest project with violinist Sean Lee was PaganiniXSchumann, a digital EP release that accompanied a live performance at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center of all 24 Paganini Caprices with piano parts written by Robert Schumann.

In Peter’s performances with his wife, mezzo-soprano Kara Dugan, repertoire ranges from art song to American Songbook, to original songs and world premieres. The Dugans have appeared at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, WQXR’s Greene Space, and on PBS Great Performances’ Now Hear This.

As a founding creator of Operation Superpower, a superhero opera for children, Peter has traveled to dozens of schools in the greater New York area, performing for students and encouraging them to use their talents—their superpowers—for good. He is head of the Artist in Residence program at pianoSonoma and a founding faculty member of the Resonance and Soundboard Institutes at Honeywell Arts Academy.

Peter Dugan holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where he studied under Matti Raekallio. He resides in New York City and is a Yamaha Artist.