Music
Press
“MITHRIL is musically strong and interesting and the audience loved them. This is the type of entertainment we are proud to present to our patrons. MITHRIL helped us bring a big world to a small town.”
DAVID FINK, co-owner, ACORN THEATER, Three Oaks, MI
- David Fink, Acorn Theater
“We had one of our biggest crowds ever in our 20 years of giving Fine Arts presentations for the community. The concert was very upbeat with lots of variety, enjoyable and entertaining to all. We even had a little boy dancing in the aisle!”
GLEN & JUDY BROWN RICHARDSON, Co-Managers, FINE ARTS SERIES of The Presbyterian Church of La Porte, IN
- Glen & Judy Brown Richardson, Fine Arts Series, LaPorte IN
“Celtic culture is in good hands in the south with the musical talents of MITHRIL. Their CDs ‘Banish Misfortune’ and ‘Winter’s Day’ feature top-quality Celtic music and I’ve played selections from both of them on my nationally syndicated radio program.”
BRYAN KELSO CROW, host of "CELTIC CONNECTIONS" syndicated radio program
- Bryan Kelso Crow, Celtic Connections syndicated radio program
“The Quartet played with verve and seemed to be in constant motion; clearly they were having fun. The four wasted no time demonstrating why MITHRIL has become one of the most sought-after groups in the region. When MITHRIL hit the final emphatic note, the ovation was thunderous…a breathtaking finish that brought patrons to their feet.”
THOMAS HARRISON, arts editor, MOBILE REGISTER
- Thomas Harrison, arts editor, Mobile Register
“The energy level, artistic excellence, and simple joy of the performers transfers to the audience for an evening of unmatched delight.”
CHRISTINA LITTLEJOHN, executive director, MOBILE SYMPHONY
- CHRISTINA LITTLEJOHN, executive director, MOBILE SYMPHONY
“I cannot thank you enough for all your help and for your group’s professional approach to this engagement with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra this past weekend. Mithril was wonderful to work with and that includes tremendous flexibility. I know the audience really enjoyed hearing you and we look forward to talking about doing something together in the future.”
MICHEAL BEATTIE, executive director, MISSISSIPPI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
- MICHEAL BEATTIE, executive director, MISSISSIPPI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
“What a perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! The program was wonderful and our audiences responded enthusiastically to Mithril’s high-energy performance.”
CARLA HILL, president & CEO, WEST SHORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
- CARLA HILL, president & CEO, WEST SHORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
“Like their namesake, MITHRIL takes the fantasy of Tolkien and mixes it with Celtic folk and contemporary music in a magic blend of powerful musical talent. They play with energy and skill and sound as tight as the best Celtic bands. I highly recommend that you too discover the magic that is MITHRIL!”
MICHAEL McDANE HARRIS, host of RENRADIO.COM (top internet radio site)
- MICHAEL McDANE HARRIS, host of RENRADIO.COM (top internet radio site)
Discography
Mithril’s three CDs on Flying Frog Music include:
'Banish Misfortune', 'Winter's Day' and 'Live In Concert'. They have received airplay on the nationally syndicated “Celtic Connections” radio show, AOL World Radio, and are experiencing heavy iTunes downloads by fans all around the world. Compass/Green Linnet recording artist Manus McGuire says Mithril’s most recent CD, Live In Concert, “gives great insight into four musicians on top of their game.”
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Mithril is fast becoming one of the most sought after Celtic/World music groups on the concert series scene. The band’s unique progressive style has its roots in traditional Celtic music but moves far beyond that, weaving such diverse influences as American folk, classical, and Middle Eastern melodies into their full tapestry of sound.
The four musicians perform on a wide array of instruments, including Irish flute, whistle, fife, Celtic harp, fiddle, bouzouki, guitar, bodhran, and harmonium, playing with the precision of their classical training and the enthusiasm that springs from their love of the music.
Mithril’s music is great for St. Patrick’s Day – and for every other day of the year as well! The band offers two distinct programs – A Celtic Celebration, filled with the jigs, reels and heartfelt melodies that have made Celtic music popular throughout the world, and Winter’s Day, featuring music that specifically celebrates winter and the holiday season.
Mithril has been featured on arts and concert series and festivals throughout the Southeast and beyond, including performances in Mobile, Montgomery, Gulf Shores (Alabama); Pensacola, Panama City Beach (Florida); Biloxi, Jackson (Mississippi); Augusta, Macon (Georgia); New Orleans (Louisiana); Three Oaks (Michigan); and LaPorte (Indiana).
Mithril continues to push at the boundaries, taking audiences of all ages on an exotic musical journey to Ireland, Scotland, and beyond.
BAND MEMBER BIOS:
Tom Morley (fiddle, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin) has performed professionally in almost every style of music, Before moving to Fairhope in 1993, he worked as a studio and touring musician in Nashville, earning a gold album with a major country act. He has had two European tours as a jazz violinist. As an Irish/Celtic fiddler, he has twice traveled to Ireland to perform and research the music of County Clare and western Ireland, At Boston’s Gaelic Roots Summer Workshop, he studied with famous Irish fiddlers Manus McGuire (Brock-McGuire Band, Moving Cloud) and Matt Cranitch and performed alongside legendary musicians Tommy Peoples, Donal O’Connor, and Michael Tubridy (The Chieftains), Tom has also performed with accordionist Jeff Taylor, who appears on The Chieftan’s Down the Old Plank Road CD, and John Mock, who performs regularly with Maura O’Connell and the Dixie Chicks. Tom is a member of the Mobile Symphony and a founding member of the Silverwood Quartet, a chamber ensemble with an eclectic repertoire.
Andra Bohnet (Irish flute, whistle, Celtic harp) is a flutist who embraces a rich variety of musical styles and performs on flutes of all shapes and sizes; classical, traditional wooden, baroque and a variety of ethnic instruments, as well as Celtic harp. She holds the post of Professor of Music at the University of South Alabama in Mobile where she teaches flute, music history, and chamber music and is the principal flutist with Mobile Symphony and the Gulf Coast Symphony in Biloxi, MS. Andra is also a founding member of the Silverwood Quartet. As Silverwood’s primary arranger, her works appear on all of their CDs, and she has also created the Mithril symphonic orchestrations. She has studied traditional flute playing at the Boxwood Flute Festival in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and is on the faculty at the Wind on the Bay Flute Symposium in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
Ben Harper (guitar, bass guitar) was raised in a family of musicians and has been playing one instrument or another as long as he can remember. He majored in flute at the University of South Alabama, studying with Mithril's own Andra Bohnet, and received a Bachelor’s in music education. He has worked in all aspects of the music business, including retail sales and as an announcer at WHIL Radio in Mobile. Since the mid-1990s, he has performed in a number of jazz and rock bands along the Gulf Coast (actually 9 at last count), and brings a high-energy rock sensibility to the music of Mithril.
David Hughes (bodhran, djembe, percussion, harmonium, melodeon) has been an active percussionist and composer for over ten years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in music composition from the University of Mobile and has studied percussion privately since 1989. He has performed with many ensembles in a variety of genres including jazz, rock, gospel, and classical. David's path into hand drumming began with the study of Latin percussion which fueled further interest in the African and Middle Eastern rhythmic traditions. His diverse musical background offers an interesting array of colors to the Mithril soundscape.
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