Sophia performs on Show 408.

Sophia Molina (violin), 19, hails from Coral Gables, Florida. She started her musical journey at the age of 4 when she first saw a youth orchestra, and the violin captured her attention to the point of becoming the biggest interest in her life.

With a growing passion for music, she managed to rapidly advance in her studies. At age 6, she joined the Greater Miami Youth Symphony, which became an integral part of her music education. In addition to having performed multiple times as a soloist, Sophia has won many competitions at a local and national level, including the GMYS Concert and Symphony Concerto Competitions, New World School of the Arts Concerto Competitions, Florida State Music Teachers’ Association (FSMTA), Florida winner in the Music Teachers’ National Association (MTNA), American Protégé International Concerto Competition where she had the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall, Alhambra Orchestra Concerto Competition, the New World Symphony Side-by-Side Concerto Competition, and the National Young Arts Competition. In the summer of 2019, she performed again at Carnegie Hall, and other important concert halls throughout Europe such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Elbphilharmonie, and the Concertgebouw, as part of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States (NYO). She was featured in the Martha/Mary Starburst Young Artist Concert Series in 2021, and was selected to appear on the National Public Radio’s “From the Top”.

Sophia is currently in her first year of her BM at The Juilliard School studying under Hyo Kang. Previously, she studied with Charles Castleman and Miclen LaiPang. She attended high school at the New World School of the Arts where she was concertmaster of the NWSA High School Orchestra and the NWSA Camerata Ensemble and studied with Huifang Chen. She started her violin studies at the Miami Conservatory of music with Andres Trujillo, who helped develop her passion for music at a young age.

As part of her summer studies and additional programs, Sophia has attended the Charles Castleman Quartet program, the Heifetz International summer institute, LyricaFest Boston, the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) and the MyCM music festivals, where she’s had the opportunity to study and participate in Master classes with many internationally esteemed musicians including Michael Tilson Thomas, Ivan Chan, Mark Kaplan, Ilya and Olga Kaler, Elmar Oliveira, Ying Fu, Daniel Cho and Francesca dePasquale. As part of her orchestra performances, she has played under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano, Michael Tilson Thomas, Carlos Miguel Prieto and Jose Serebrier.

In addition to her solo and orchestra performances, Sophia is passionate about chamber music and was involved in Miami Youth for Chamber Music (MyCM) for four years where she had the opportunity to perform at various community events with her quartet. She is also a founding member of the Superpower of ME, which is a local non-profit that provides instruments and music scholarships for local students. Outside of music, Sophia enjoys traveling, bullet journaling and calligraphy.

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.