Mithril is fast becoming one of the most sought after Celtic/World music groups in the Southeast, with high-profile performances in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana. As guest artists with Mobile (AL) Symphony for ‘A Celtic Christmas Pops Concert’ in December 2004, Mithril set an all-time attendance record for a symphony pops series. They also drew record-setting crowds to their Mobile Symphony Chamber Series performances in 2003 and 2004. In March 2006, they were guest artists with the West Shore Symphony (Muskegon, MI) for two ‘St. Patrick’s Day Celebration’ concerts. Upcoming symphony appearances include the Columbus (GA) Symphony in Dec. 2006.

Mithril has released three CDs on the Flying Frog Music label. Their first CD, ‘Banish Misfortune’, was featured on the 'Celtic Connections' syndicated radio program (heard on 100 stations in US) and has received airplay on internet radio sites including AOL World Radio, XM Satellite Radio, Ren Radio & Celtic Moon. The group second CD, ‘Winter's Day’, released in October 2004, has also been featured on ‘Celtic Connections’ and public radio stations throughout the southeast. Their newest release, ‘Live In Concert’ reflects all the excitement of their high-energy performances. Green Linnet recording artist Manus McGuire says “Mithril’s ‘Live In Concert’ CD gives us a great insight into four musicians on top of their game. The group’s classical roots provide a lovely backdrop to the real traditional feel throughout the recording. Well done to all concerned!” All three CDs are available through iTunes and other similar websites and have received heavy download business throughout the world.

Founding members Tom Morley (fiddle, bouzouki, guitar) and Andra Bohnet (Irish flute, whistle, fife, Celtic harp) became interested in Celtic music after performing as part of Silverwood Quartet with Windham Hill artist/Nightnoise member Brian Dunning during the National Flute Convention in Atlanta in 1999. Morley and Bohnet recorded the first Mithril CD, ‘Banish Misfortune’ as a duo, overdubbing tracks in the studio to sound like a full band. (Percussionist David Hughes made his first appearance on one track of the CD.) Realizing that they couldn't perform music from the CD live without assistance, they invited Hughes (percussion, keyboards) and Ben Harper (guitar) to join them, making Mithril a 4-piece band in January 2003.

Since then, Mithril has developed an exciting and energetic live show that combines the best Celtic music from Ireland, Scotland, and beyond with innovative world melodies and unique instrumentation. And their exciting full orchestra arrangements make them totally compatible as guest artists with any symphony orchestra! A performance by Mithril is sure to bring audiences of all ages to their feet and asking for more.

Recent performances include: Alabama Highland Games, Montgomery, Alabama; Celtic Fest, Jackson, Mississippi; Celtic Nations Festival, New Orleans; Tuesday Music Live Series, Augusta, Georgia; O'Flaherty's Irish Pub, New Orleans; Celtic Music Society of Montgomery Concert Series, Montgomery, Alabama; Radio Live, WUWF, Pensacola, Florida; Mobile Symphony Chamber Music Series; Special Events Concert Series, Gulf Shores, Alabama; Gulf Beach Concert Series, Panama City Beach, Florida; North Baldwin Concert Series, Bay Minette, Alabama; St. Patrick's Celebration at Historic Oakleigh, Mobile, Alabama. In 2003, Mithril opened concerts for Grammy nominated Irish flute player Skip Healy and also performed as his back-up group.

Visit our website at:  http://www.mithril.us

INDIVIDUAL ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

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 of 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, flute) 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: (percussion, harmonium) 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.

For sound samples, click here: http://www.mithril.us/discography.php