American Café Orchestra

Blending North American folk traditions with those of Ireland, Scandinavia, and Hungary shapes the repertoire of the American Café Orchestra. The ensemble, whose name suggests a larger ensemble, actually consists of a duo: New England-born fiddler Ruthie Dornfeld and Danish guitarist Morten Alfred Høirup. After encountering Høirup at a bluegrass festival in Denmark in 1985, Dornfeld—a onetime participant in the Boston-based contredance group Yankee Ingenuity and the eclectic string band the Poodles—formed the American Café Orchestra. The two instrumentalists subsequently appeared in cafés and folk venues across the Northeastern United States and Europe whenever each visited the other’s country. Their only recording, the 1992 album Egyptian Dominos, appeared under that name.