Myron Bretholz, a native of Baltimore,
Maryland, 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, and David Kincaid; Uilleann
piper Jerry O'Sullivan; accordionist Patty Furlong; flutists Jimmy Noonan and
Laura Byrne Egan; Scottish fiddlers Elke Baker and Bonnie Rideout; bluegrass
banjoist Tom Adams; and the groups Brave Combo, the Irish Tradition, Ensemble
Galilei, and Magpie. Myron has taught bodhran and rhythm bones at many
workshops throughout the United States and Canada over the past twenty years,
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 during the late 1990s. He received early
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, he 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.