Mira performs on Show 449.

Mira Kardan (cello), 17, lives in Los Angeles, California, and attends the Colburn School where she studies with acclaimed cellist Clive Greensmith. She is a member of the Colburn Music Academy for gifted young artists, where she pursues a rigorous curriculum of musical instruction and where she serves as principal cellist of the Colburn Academy Virtuosi chamber orchestra.

An avid chamber musician, Mira performed as a member of the Olive Piano Trio, coached by Martin Beaver, Fabio Bidini, and Clive Greensmith. Her trio won the Gold Medal first prize at the 2022 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the First Grand Prize in the 2022 Chicago International Music Competition. The Olive Piano Trio went abroad to Finland in 2023, participating in an exchange program with the Sibelius Academy. Mira was the 2022 first prize winner of the Bellflower[CA] Symphony Competition and performed as soloist on the closing concert of their season. Mira has won numerous other prizes including first prize laureate in the 2020 Sound Espressivo Competition.

In addition to her work with Clive Greensmith, Mira has had the opportunity to study with Hans Jorgen Jensen, Clara Kim, Colin Carr, Amit Peled, Steven Doane, and the Calidore Quartet. She was selected to perform in a master class for acclaimed cellist Gautier Capuçon. Mira has attended the Heifetz International Music Institute, Meadowmount School of Music and the Indiana Summer String Academy.

Mira performs on a Montagnana model Grubaugh & Seifert cello made in 2019, and a Sylvan Bigot bow.

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.