NMM Live! | Kristian Bugge & Ruthie Dornfeld

Description

Kristian Bugge is one of the busiest folk musicians rooted in Denmark. He was born 1979 in Næstved, Denmark. His family lived in Sweden for two years and then settled in Vejle in Eastern Jutland, Denmark. He attended a Rudolf Steiner (Waldorf) School where, when asked in the fifth grade which instrument he would like, he chose the violin. Soon the two of them were inseparable. His mother, Lise, found a local music school offering ensemble playing for young people and that was where Kristian first met traditional music. He was fascinated by the catchy tunes, the close connection between music and dancing, and the spontaneous joy of playing among other young musicians – an experience which was to decide the direction of his musical career. He experienced music as a means of communication unhindered by national or cultural borders while travelling with the youth ensemble Fandango.

After graduating from school, Kristian studied five months at the Raduga Art College in Moscow where he was taught by Mikhail Tsinman, the first violinist of the Bolshoi Theatre. In the spring of 2000, he went to study at the Malung Folk High School, Sweden. Here he received six month of lessons in traditional dance from Ami Petterson followed by fiddle classes with the distinguished Swedish fiddler Kalle Almlöf. It was an inspiring year which again confirmed his love of traditional music. He spent the Spring of 2001 in beautiful Stockholm, Sweden and later that year he was admitted to the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense, Denmark as a major in folk music.

Now Kristian Bugge is very active on especially the Danish, Scandinavian and North American folk music scene, both as a musician and teacher. Kristian has specialized in the strong Danish folk music traditions, playing with groups like Baltic Crossing, Jensen & Bugge, Gangspil and Jagdselskabet. For about 10 years he played duo with the legendary accordionist, late Karl Skaarup. Kristian has a strong love to the traditional music but also really enjoy experimenting and being part of crossover projects as the cooperation with classical percussionist Ronni Kot Wenzel in the very active duo Wenzell & Bugge and the exciting Danish folk big band Habadekuk.

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Fiddler Ruthie Dornfeld's big tone, fierce rhythm and fluid style, along with a wildly eclectic repertoire, have won her popularity among dancers and concert audiences alike. Fluent in a wide range of traditional styles (Irish, American old-time, Scandinavian and Eastern European, for starters), she has performed and taught for over forty years throughout the USA and from the Manaus Operahouse in the Brazilian Amazon to the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland.

After starting with classical violin as a child in Oregon, Ruthie discovered fiddling at age 18, then hit the road in pursuit of music. In New England, she studied jazz at Berklee College of Music, became a renowned dance fiddler, played in the stringband The Poodles, and founded the transcontinental American Cafe Orchestra with Danish guitarist Morten Alfred Høirup.

Now settled in Seattle, Ruthie keeps busy as a member of 3 Fiddlers, 3 Traditions (together with Danish fiddler Kristian Bugge and Métis fiddler Jamie Fox), the tango band Tangoheart, accompanying country singing duo Margo Murphy and John Roberts, and playing for local dances. Ruthie also plays a 5-string medieval fiddle (vielle), and her compositions for that instrument are featured in the recording "Lay of the Waves," for which she received grants from Artist Trust and the Jack Straw Foundation.

A live stream of this concert will be available to watch for free on our website here.