BRIDGES: RAVEL TO THE BEATLES

Charles Yang, violin | Peter Dugan, piano

The “classical-meets-rockstar-duo" (Wall Street Journal) will feature a gamut of musical styles and the connections between them.

Something Interesting

Featured Artists

Charles Yang, violin

Charles YangRecipient of the 2018 Leonard Bernstein Award and described by the Boston Globe as one who "plays classical violin with the charisma of a rock star", Juilliard graduate Charles Yang began his violin studies with his mother in Austin, Texas, and has since studied with world-renowned pedagogues Kurt Sassmanshaus, Paul Kantor, Brian Lewis and Glenn Dicterow. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras and in concert in the United States, Europe, Brazil, Russia, China, and Taiwan, and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. On June 9th of 2005, the Mayor of Austin presented Mr. Yang with his own "Charles Yang Day".  In 2016 Mr. Yang joined the crossover string-band, Time for Three.

Not only confined to classical violin, Mr. Yang's improvisational crossover abilities as a violinist, electric violinist, and vocalist have led him to featured performances with a variety of artists in such festivals as The Aspen Music Festival, The Schleswig- Holstein Music Festival, The Ravinia Festival, The Crested Butte Music Festival, The Cayman Arts Festival, The YouTube Music Awards, The Moab Music Festival, TED, Caramoor, The EG Conference, Google Zeitgeist, Interlochen, and onstage at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House, David H. Koch Theater, Dizzy’s and David Rubinstein Atrium; The Long Center, Rudolfinum, The Royal Danish Theatre, Le Poisson Rouge, Highline Ballroom, Ars Nova, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Forbidden City in Beijing among many others. He has performed in the presence of two former US Presidents, the Queen of Denmark and has shared the stage in collaborations with artists including Peter Dugan, CDZA, Steve Miller, Jesse Colin Young, Jake Shimabukuro, Ray Benson, Michael Gordon, Marcelo Gomes, Savion Glover, Twyla Tharp, Misty Copeland, and Jon Batiste. Mr. Yang recently made his solo debut with Marin Alsop and The Chicago Symphony at The Ravinia Festival. His career has been followed by various news media including The New York Times, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, The Financial Times, The Austin-American Statesman, The Austin Chronicle and The Strad. Mr. Yang is featured in Nick Romeo's book, Driven as well as Discovery Channel's Curiosity.

Regarding Mr. Yang, The Texas Observer has noted, “Mr. Yang is a true crossover artist, a pioneer who can hop between classical and popular music and bring fresh ideas to fans of both genres. Rather than maintaining an insular focus and simply assuming

that an audience for classical music will always exist, he wants to actively create that audience, to persuade and seduce others into enjoying a type of music as passionately as he does.”

Peter Dugan, piano

Pianist Peter 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.” He is heard every week across America as the host of National Public Radio’s beloved program From the Top.  Mr. Dugan has appeared as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician across North America and abroad.  In 2020, he joined acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell for At Home With Music, a national PBS broadcast and live album release on Sony Classical. This season Mr. Dugan continues his collaboration with Bell, touring internationally with recitals at London's Wigmore Hall, Taipei’s National Theater and Concert Hall, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. 

Prizing stylistic versatility as the hallmark of a 21st century musician, Mr. Dugan is equally at home in classical, jazz, and pop idioms, and has collaborated with artists ranging from Jesse Colin Young, to Renee Fleming, to Paquito D'Rivera.  Mr. Dugan performs regularly in partnership with friends and artists who share a passion for expanding the world of classical music. The Wall Street Journal described Mr. Dugan’s collaboration with violinist and vocalist Charles Yang as a “classical-meets-rockstar duo.”  In Mr. Dugan’s performances with his wife, mezzo-soprano Kara Dugan, repertoire ranges from art song, to American Songbook, to original songs and world premieres.  The Dugans have appeared at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, WQXR’s Greene Space, and on PBS Great Performances’ Now Hear This.

Mr. Dugan’s latest album with baritone John
Brancy – The Journey Home: Live from the Kennedy Center – was released on Avie Records in 2021 along with an accompanying documentary film from WNET’s AllArts.  Brancy and Dugan have given recitals at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center, and together won first prize at the 2018 Montreal International Music Competition. Mr. Dugan’s latest project with violinist Sean Lee was PaganiniXSchumann, a digital EP release that accompanied a live performance at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center of all 24 Paganini Caprices with piano parts written by Robert Schumann.  Mr. Dugan appeared as the piano soloist in Charles Ives’ 4th Symphony with the Houston Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, and on an album with Michael Tilson Thomas and the SFS.

Mr. Dugan advocates for a classical music culture that is inclusive and welcoming to all, from a community's concert halls and theaters, to its schools and hospitals.  As a founding creator of Operation Superpower, a superhero opera for children, he has travelled to dozens of schools in the greater New York area, performing for students and encouraging them to use their talents – their superpowers – for good.  He is head of the Artist in Residence program at pianoSonoma and a founding faculty member of the Resonance and Soundboard Institutes at Honeywell Arts Academy. 

Mr. Dugan holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where he studied under Matti Raekallio. He resides in New York City and is a Yamaha Artist.

About The Music

Bridges: Ravel to the Beatles

From Ravel to The Beatles to their own compositions, the genre-bending classical-meets-rockstar-duo (Wall Street Journal) will feature a gamut of musical styles and the connections between them.

More coming soon

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

6:00pm: Member Reception
7:00pm: Concert

NORTON MUSEUM OF ART
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West Palm Beach, FL 33401

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