Mezzo soprano Kara Dugan has been praised by the New York Times for her “vocal warmth and rich character.” Her diverse career ranges from world premieres, to baroque concert work, to cross-genre performances and art song recitals. Her work with living composers has included the world premiere of Michael Tilson Thomas’ Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind, a production of John Musto’s opera Bastianello at Festival Napa Valley with the composer at the piano, and a workshop performance of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel as part of the Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center Theater’s New New Works Program. This season she made her debut with the Albany Symphony performing Michael Daugherty’s multi-genre tribute to Woody Guthrie, This Land Sings.

As a passionate recitalist she performs often with her husband Peter Dugan, pianist and host of NPR’s From the Top. The husband and wife duo were recently featured on PBS Great Performances’ “Now Hear This” and have performed across the United States, including at the Joye in Aiken Festival, Charles Ives Concert Series, Moab Music Festival, and Portland Chamber Music Festival. The duo’s eclectic repertoire has brought them to a wide range of venues including  Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, where they joined crossover string group Time for Three. Ms. Dugan received her Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees from The Juilliard School.

Stephanie Pacheco is the 2023 NYC Youth Poet Laureate, a student, and an organizer from The Bronx. From her early high school years to now, Stephanie has been a fierce advocate for educational equity and social justice across New York City. She has performed her poetry at multiple cultural landmarks such as The Apollo Theater and The Schomburg Center, where she was also a Junior Scholar. She has been a leading organizer and strategist with several activist organizations, including the Healing Centered Schools Task Force, Alliance for Quality Education, and Teens Take Charge, working to mobilize youth across the city against educational injustice. Her poetry and advocacy has been highlighted by The Today’s Show. Stephanie’s goal is to continue uplifting and to connect with her community using her words as tools for liberation, championing the belief that a better world is possible.

Over the past 50 years, Pilobolus has performed around the globe in events ranging from the Oscars to the Olympics and collaborated with some of the world’s greatest influencers and creators.  Pilobolus is a rebellious dance company. Since 1971, Pilobolus has tested the limits of human physicality to explore the beauty and the power of connected bodies. They continue to bring this tradition to global audiences through our post-disciplinary collaborations with some of the greatest influencers, thinkers, and creators in the world.  Pilobolus brings their decades of expertise telling stories with the human form to show diverse communities, brands, and organizations how to maximize group creativity, solve problems, create surprise, and generate joy through the power of nonverbal communication. 

Hailed by The New York Times at its Carnegie Hall debut as “invariably energetic and finely burnished… playing with earthy vigor,” the GRAMMY Award-winning Catalyst Quartet was founded by the internationally acclaimed Sphinx Organization in 2010. The ensemble (Karla Donehew Perez, violin; Abi Fayette, violin; Paul Laraia, viola; and Karlos Rodriguez, cello) believes in the unity that can be achieved through music and imagine their programs and projects with this in mind, redefining and reimagining the classical music experience.

Luthier Paris Andrew was born in Yorkshire and apprenticed in England. Eventually she moved to Florence to learn the construction of baroque instruments. She now runs her own workshop in Florence, and made Thorgy’s special “pink violin!”