Laura Cortese and the Dance Cards is an all-female string group brought together by the love of traditional American music and the myriad of ways it can be expressed in a chamber-folk setting. With their feet solidly grounded in traditional fiddle styles, they reach for the sky with their original compositions, arrangements and interpretations of Old-Time, Bluegrass, Country, and Celtic music.

Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards has toured throughout the US and its individual members in different parts of the world, playing at festivals, music clubs and house concerts and conducting workshops. Members include Laura Cortese (fiddle), Mariel Vandersteel (fiddle) and Valerie Thompson (cello).

The band will also hold master classes at music schools in Tashkent and Ferghana city where they will collaborate with local students and musicians. The concert in Tashkent will feature joint performances with Uzbekistani musicians from the Sogdiana Orchestra.

The group’s tour is part of the State Department’s American Music Abroad program, an exchange that features a wide variety of American musical genres through international cultural exchange initiatives. The program will reach more than 40 countries in 2013 and 2014. The US government is committed to using nontraditional diplomatic initiatives to foster mutual understanding between the people of the United States and Uzbekistan.

US Embassy Tashkent has partnered with Mix&Match Producer Center in bringing Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards to Uzbekistan. Tickets to the concerts are available through the US Embassy’s Information Resource Center and are offered to the public at no charge.