Wyatt performs on Show 448.

Wyatt Ellis (mandolin/composer), 14, lives in Maryville, Tennessee and started planing mandolin at the age of 10. His connection to the bluegrass music community began in the darkest, most isolated days of the pandemic. When access to regional musicians at local jams and lessons vanished, he turned to online lessons from professional musicians who were also stuck at home. During the first year of the quarantine, Wyatt’s fascination with the eight-stringed instrument grew exponentially. He went from playing mandolin a few hours a week to playing mandolin a few hours a day. By the second year, Wyatt was writing and co-writing tunes that, while respecting the traditions of mountain music, began to evoke a sense of excitement and discovery in everyone around him.

In the fall of 2020, Wyatt was chosen by his hero Sierra Hull, herself a former mandolin prodigy, for a Tennessee Folklife apprenticeship. In October 2022, Wyatt performed alongside former Bluegrass Boy Peter Rowan and Grammy winner Molly Tuttle at Rowan’s induction into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. Wyatt was invited by his ultimate mandolin hero, Marty Stuart, to help kick off the Grand-Reopening of the Ellis Theater in Philadelphia, Mississippi. In February 2023, at 13 years old, he made his Grand Ole Opry debut appearance with bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent. Moments after his debut appearance he was jamming backstage with acoustic icons Vince Gill and Mark O’Connor. In March 2023, Wyatt joined the genre’s newest superstar, Billy Strings, to honor Doc Watson at his 100th birthday celebration. The now fourteen-year-old was recently invited to play the iconic Merlefest event Mandolin Mania with five of his mandolin heroes.

As a young musician just starting out on his musical journey, Wyatt has found that the bluegrass community is full of supporters, kind words, and encouragement. He has accrued more than 100,000 followers on combined social media before ever releasing a single.

Happy Valley is a collection of twelve original instrumentals written when Wyatt was twelve-years-old. The album, named for a quaint holler near his home in East Tennessee, showcases Wyatt playing alongside his mandolin heroes, backed by an all-star bluegrass band. Produced by Justin Moses, the project was serendipitously recorded on Happy Valley Road, a homestead once owned by Grand Ole Opry member Grandpa Jones and his wife Ramona outside of Nashville, in an out-building turned state-of-the-art studio now known as The Tractor Shed. Although purely coincidental, the picturesque title reflects not only a love of Tennessee’s natural beauty but also the rich musical legacy of the musicians who were here before him. Rooted in tradition but adventurous in spirit, Happy Valley illustrates Wyatt’s reverence for the genre’s pioneers, as well as a respect for its trailblazers.

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.

Grammy Award winning/Nashville-based bassist Victor Wooten joined From the Top as Co-Host on our special Nashville episode in 2024.  Well known as a founding member of the supergroup Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Wooten is an accomplished musician/composer and skilled naturalist and teacher. From the Top was thrilled to visit Victor Wooten’s Center for Music and Nature during our visit to Nashville. Read Victor’s full bio on his website.