Henry performs on Show 419.

Henry Auxenfans (violin), 15, is from Chicago, Illinois and a sophomore at the University of Chicago Laboratory school. He studies violin with Frank Almond, and his chamber coaches include Larry Neuman, Qing Hou, and Hsing-Huei Huang. Henry has been honored with multiple regional, national and international prizes, including First Prize at the 2022 The President’s Own United States Marine Band Concerto Competition, NYIAA (New York International Artists Association), Lakeview Symphony Young Artist competition, and 2022 Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. He won Second Prize at the 2020 Arthur Grumiaux Int’l Competition in Belgium. At the age of 12, Henry was the youngest prize-winner of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition. Henry was also twice the national finalist of the MTNA (Music Teachers National Association). When he was ten, Henry had his Carnegie Weill Hall debut as a result of winning First Prize of the American Protege International competition. The same year, he also had his orchestra debut with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra at Northwestern University’s Pick-Staiger Hall as their 2018 concerto competition winner. For the past few seasons, Henry has served as the Concertmaster for various orchestras within CYSO and is currently the CM of their highest-level orchestra as well as their chamber orchestra. Besides orchestral and solo playing, Henry is also a passionate chamber musician. He is part of the Plymouth quintet/quartet, and University of Chicago Lab school’s Beethoven Trio. Henry has been invited to perform the national anthem solo several times with the NBA Chicago Bulls at the United Center. He was featured by WFMT with his brother, Louis, twice in 2021 and 2022. Outside of music, Henry enjoys tennis, soccer, swimming, biking, reading, writing, cooking, and learning languages.

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.