Phenomenal Sister Duo
Phenomenal Sister Duo
For today’s Daily Joy, we are sharing a phenomenal performance of Sarasate’s “Navarra” performed by sisters Fiona & Hina Khuong-Huu, with host Peter Dugan joining virtually.
For today’s Daily Joy, we are sharing a phenomenal performance of Sarasate’s “Navarra” performed by sisters Fiona & Hina Khuong-Huu, with host Peter Dugan joining virtually.
Fiona performed on Show 355 at Carnegie Hall on April 29, 2018.
Fiona Khuong–Huu, 11, (violin) lives in New York City where she attends the Spence School and studies violin with Professor Li Lin at the Juilliard Pre-College Division. She has won numerous competitions, including the 2017 Grumiaux International Violin Competition, and has been taught by Asako Yoshikawa, Leonid Kerbel, and Keiko Tokunaga. Fiona recently performed with her sister Hina in Antwerp, Belgium and in the Atomium in Brussels during the 60th-anniversary celebration of the landmark building.
Hina performed on Show 360 in Boston on October 14, 2018 at age 14.
Hina Khuong-Huu (violin), 14, started to play the violin when she was three years old. She has won top prizes at the Osaka International Competition, the Grumiaux Competition, and Il Piccolo Violino Magico, and competed in the Menuhin Competition. She has attended the Musica Mundi Chamber Music Course and Festival in Belgium, and currently attends the Spence School in New York and is a student at the Juilliard Pre-College Division and studies with Professor Li Lin.
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.
Music has the unique ability to bring joy to our lives – especially in the hands of young people. Daily Joy is a reminder of music’s power to uplift, inspire, and unite.
Daily Joy is a project of From the Top. It began in the very early days of the Covid-19 pandemic and continues today to offer a much-needed respite from the anxiety and worry that we encounter in the world.
From the Top is a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating the stories and artistry of young musicians through media and leadership programs. Learn more.
From the Top is grateful to the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation for their generous support of Daily Joy.
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