From Texas to Massachusetts and now North Carolina, trombonist Kevin Dugat has seen music pave the way to a varied and exciting career as a performer, educator, and academic.
With a passion for exploring new music, Dugat led a consortium for a piece for tenor trombone, tenor voice, and piano composed by David Faleris. This piece, The Pull of a Greater Tide, was given its United States premiere in 2024 and its international premiere at The International Trombone Festival in London, Ontario, in 2025. Dugat has contributed to numerous other consortia, including Jack Wilds’ Sonata for Trombone and Brass Quartet, which Dugat gave the New England Premiere of in 2024, and the Chromatic Brass Collective’s consortium of new brass chamber music by composers Madison Anglin and Katahj Copley.
Dugat received his first taste of professional chamber music as a member of Bruce Vantine’s Cornerstone Chorale and Brass during the group’s United States tour in 2016. From 2021 to 2025, Dugat lived in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was deeply involved in the New England music scene. He performed as a member of ensembles such as the Boston Chamber Symphony and the Boston Annex Players, and appeared as a substitute with orchestras across the region, including the Boston Symphony, the Boston Pops, the Portland Symphony (ME), and the Plymouth Philharmonic. Since moving to the Southeast, Dugat has performed with the Charleston Symphony and will make his first appearance with the Charlotte Symphony in March of 2026.
Most recently, Dugat joined the music faculty at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte as the Visiting Lecturer of Low Brass and General Education. At UNC Charlotte, Dugat oversees an applied studio of trombone and euphonium students and instructs courses in music business, brass techniques, and the history of rock. In addition to these responsibilities, Dugat also conducts the Charlotte Trombone Collective, which is a trombone choir composed of Charlotte students, high school students, and local trombone enthusiasts. Dugat previously held a similar position in Kerrville, Texas, at Schreiner University from 2017 to 2021.
A Texas native, Dugat holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University, with additional degrees from the University of Alabama and Texas State University. His principal teachers include Toby Oft, Dr. Jonathan Whitaker, and Dr Martin McCain.