About

Mezzo soprano Kara Dugan has been praised by The New York Times for her “vocal warmth and rich character.” Her diverse career ranges from baroque oratorio to world premieres.  Recent seasons include recitals at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, New York Festival of Song, Festival Napa Valley, the White Mountains Music Festival with members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and a seven-show run of American Ballet Theater's production of Christopher Wheeldon and Joby Talbot's Like Water for Chocolate at the Metropolitan Opera. Ms. Dugan's 25/26 season features the world premiere of Loren Loiacano's Feathers from the Old Manse with the Albany Symphony, Princeton Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Pops concert, and a salon concert presented by The Chopin Foundation of the United States.

 

Ms. Dugan has made debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Buffalo Philharmonic. She performed with the New World Symphony under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas in the world premiere of his Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind and in its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall. She has performed with the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Aspen Music Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, and at venues ranging from National Sawdust to Alice Tully Hall.

 

Her work as a baroque concert soloist began during her studies at The Juilliard School and has taken her on three international tours with Juilliard415 and conductors Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki, and Nicholas McGegan, culminating in a performance as the Soprano II soloist in Bach’s Mass in B minor at the Boston Early Music Festival.

 

Her love of new music has sparked collaborations with the Albany Symphony performing Michael Daugherty’s This Land Sings, a multi-genre tribute to Woody Guthrie, and with Lincoln Center Theater for a workshop performance of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel. She was named an inaugural recipient of WQXR’s Artist Propulsion Lab where she commissioned and performed the world premiere of In a New York Minute: Miniatures for Voice and Piano, a song cycle highlighting the voices and perspectives of women in New York City.

 

As a passionate recitalist she performs often with her husband, pianist Peter Dugan. The duo was recently featured on PBS’ Great Performances: Now Hear This and has performed across the United States, including at the Joye in Aiken Festival, Moab Music Festival, Portland Chamber Music Festival, and WQXR’s Greene Space. Their eclectic repertoire has brought them to a wide range of venues from Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater to Sun Valley’s Argyros Theater, where they joined genre-defying string group Time for Three.

 

Ms. Dugan received her Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees from The Juilliard School.