Myron Bretholz

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Myron Bretholz has lent his talents as a percussionist to nearly fifty recordings of Irish, Scottish, and other folk music, including albums by Irish fiddlers Brian Conway and Jim Eagan; singers Aoife Clancy, Danny Doyle, Lisa Moscatiello, and Grace Griffith; Uillean piper Jerry O’Sullivan; accordionists Billy McComiskey and Patty Furlong; flutists Jimmy Noonan and Laura Byrne; Scottish fiddlers Elke Baker and Bonnie Rideout; bluegrass banjoist Tom Adams; keyboardist/songwriter Jennifer Cutting, and the groups Brave Combo, the Irish Tradition, Ensemble Galilei, and Magpie. Since the late 1980’s, Myron has taught bodhran and rhythm bones at many workshops throughout the United States and Canada, including Boston College’s Gaelic Roots, Gaelic College in Cape Breton, and the Catskills Irish Arts Week in East Durham, New York. In March 2000, Myron was privileged to receive a Maryland State Arts Council grant for solo instrumental performance, and he also was honored to play at the White House on four occasions in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. In addition, Myron has contributed liner notes to a number of recordings over the past quarter century, and he is often called on to emcee at concerts and festivals as well. Myron received early inspiration and instruction in bodhran from Jesse Winch and in rhythm bones from Karen Seime Singleton, and also counts among his influences the playing of Robin Morton, Peadar Mercier, Jim Sutherland, and Johnny McDonagh. And although not a dancer himself, Myron also draws inspiration from Irish step dancers, and he reckons that the ideal percussionist should be able to do with his or her hands what dancers do with their feet. Myron’s relaxed and humorous teaching style has made him an in-demand workshop leader and instructor, and he is always willing to encourage novice players.