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.

In recent years Kristian has met with many young European musicians, among them the members of the English/Finnish/Danish band Baltic Crossing. They were involved in the recording of Kristian´s debut album. In 2004 Kristian Bugge became the first musician ever to receive the Radium Award. The prize was awarded by the team behind the music programme Radium, which at that time was broadcast every evening by Danish Radio’s P2.

The CD was released in the summer 2005 and was as well enclosed the Danish “Folk & Musik” magazine in June that year as a present to the subscribers. It got nominated in no less than four categories at The Danish Music Award – Folk 2006, in which Kristian received the awards as “Danish debut of the year” and “Danish Folk Instrumentalist of the year“! That was the beginning of quite an impressive row of awards that he’s received both as a soloist and with his groups. To mention a few ”Danish Folk Artist of the Year” at the Danish Music Awards 2011 (Danish Grammys) and again “Danish Folk Musician of the Year” at the same event in 2016!

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.

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The NMM Live! Series is made possible by the USD Student Government Association and the South Dakota Arts Council through the Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

This program is made possible by the Maud and Mary Adams Memorial Fund.