Neal performs on Show 426.

Neal Kotamarty Eisfeldt (violin), 13, hails from Lake Zurich, Illinois, and is a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy. He studies violin with Almita Vamos and Injoo Choi. He started his violin studies at the age of three and a half at the Betty Haag Academy. He is also a fellow of the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative. In the summer of 2022, Neal made his entry into the world of composition in collaboration with the Chicago Civic Orchestra and Chicago From Scratch and composed his first solo piece named “Ukrainian Dream and Cradle” in dedication to the pain and suffering of the Ukrainian people. Neal made his solo debut at the age of ten at Carnegie Hall, winning first place at the Crescendo International Music Competition (multiple years). He also made his solo orchestral debut at the age of 11 with the Midwest Conservatory of Music (postponed due to Covid). He has won top honors in several competitions, including Society of American Musicians, Sejong Music Competition, DePaul Concerto Festival, Walgreens National Concerto Competition, the International Young Artist Concerto competition, and the Midwest Conservatory of music. He won the overall Grand Prize in all categories up to 25 years old in the Enkor international festival, with a jury of 500+ members from 70+ countries. He was also awarded the First Prize and the Exceptional Young talent special award at both the Bonn and Salzburg “Grand Prize Virtuoso” competitions. Most recently he was awarded both Rising Star and Top Performing Artist in the Sound Espressivo International competition. In addition to performing solo, Neal enjoys playing chamber music with the Rosa and Scaleno quartets in the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, his favorite being Dvořák’s American. He is an avid orchestral musician and plays in the Academy’s orchestra and formerly played in the Midwest Philharmonic Orchestra. Neal has taken master classes with renowned musicians such as Ani Kavafian, Ray Chen, Augustine Hadelich and has also received coaching from laureates such as Rachel Barton Pine, James Ehnes, Julia Fischer, and Philip Setzer. In his free time, he enjoys listening to his favorite violinists Itzhak Perlman and Jascha Heifetz as well as cooking and spending time with his sister.

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.

Prizing versatility as the key to the future of classical music, pianist Peter Dugan is equally at home in classical, jazz, and pop idioms.

He is heard nationwide as the  host of NPR’s beloved program From the Top.  He has appeared as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician across North America and abroad. 

In 2020, Mr Dugan performed with Joshua Bell on a PBS Broadcast “At Home with Music” and appeared on  the album of the same name on Sony Classical. He was also featured on PBS Great Performances with mezzo-soprano Kara Dugan for the series “Now Hear This”.

A sought-after multi-genre artist, Mr. Dugan has performed in duos and trios with artists ranging from Itzhak Perlman and Renee Fleming to Jesse Colin Young and Glenn Close. Mr Dugan’s debut performances with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony were described by the Los Angeles Times as “stunning” and by the SF Chronicle as “fearlessly athletic.” The Wall Street Journal described Mr. Dugan’s collaboration with violinist Charles Yang as a “classical-meets-rockstar duo.” Mr. Dugan has been presented in chamber music recitals by Carnegie Hall, Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, Music at Menlo, Moab Music Festival, and recently in recital with Joshua Bell at the Minnesota Beethoven Festival.  He was the 2019 featured recitalist for the California Association of Professional Music Teachers, and has soloed with the San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, New World Symphony, and Mid-Texas Symphony.

His album with baritone John Brancy –  A Silent Night: A WWI Memorial in Song – pays homage to composers who lived through, fought in, and died in the Great War. Brancy and Dugan toured this program across North America in commemoration of the centennial of WWI, including performances at The Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Stanford University, the United States Naval Academy, and the Smithsonian Institute.  Together Brancy and Dugan won first prize at the 2018 Montreal International Music Competition and second prize at the 2017 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition. He can also be heard as the piano soloist on a recording of Ives’ Fourth Symphony from Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, a recording which the New York Times named one of the top classical albums of 2019. 

Mr. Dugan advocates the importance of music in the community and at all levels of society.  As a founding creator of Operation Superpower, a superhero opera for children, he 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.

Mr. Dugan holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where he studied under Matti Raekallio. He was a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Young Scholar, College Scholar, and Graduate Scholar awards.

He resides in New York City with his wife, mezzo-soprano Kara Dugan, and serves on the piano faculty at the Juilliard School Evening Division. Mr. Dugan is a Yamaha Artist.