Biography
Athena Tergis
Born in NYC and raised in San Francisco, Athena Tergis showed a love and talent for the violin at an early age. She began with the Suzuki method at age four, yet she yearned for more creativity and freedom in her music. She found this at Alasdair Fraser’s Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School, where she studied with greats such as Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh, Alasdair Fraser, and Buddy MacMaster, winning the Junior National Scottish Fiddling Championship three years in a row.
At sixteen, Athena released her first album, Journey Begun, on Culburnie Records, an album of original and Scottish music with fellow fiddler Laura Risk. While considering a music degree at eighteen, Athena instead moved to Ireland, where she immersed herself in Irish traditional music for nearly four years. While living in Galway, she was invited by renowned box accordion player Sharon Shannon to join the Sharon Shannon Band for their 1997 European festival tour and Gail Force TV series recording. Living in Galway, Belfast, and London, Athena toured extensively, finally accepting an offer to star in a new production of Lord of the Dance in Las Vegas. Shortly after, she was invited to become the principal fiddler for the Broadway production of Riverdance.
After completing the year-and-a-half run of Riverdance on Broadway as the solo fiddler, Athena created Sonic Arts Studios and Solarsonic Records, a professional recording studio and record label in Brooklyn, NY. She continued to perform regularly, touring for over a year with sax player Clarence Clemons of The E Street Band. While living in New York, Athena met singer, historian, and banjo player Mick Moloney. The pair had a rare musical spark and soon began playing regularly together in The Green Fields of America.
In 2007, Athena released her solo album A Letter Home on Compass Records. Produced by John Doyle, it includes an A-list roster of supporting musicians and represents her deep love and appreciation for Irish traditional music. Her album with The Green Fields of America, also on Compass Records, represents the melding and cross-fertilization of Irish and American music. Athena Tergis and The Green Fields of America were featured in the award-winning documentary on PBS, Absolutely Irish!, produced by Paul Wagner in 2007.
In 2009, Athena was a featured soloist in the USA tour with the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra. During the ten-week, 49-city tour of America, Athena was a featured soloist in nine compositions, including Inishlacken, a concerto for two violins written by Bill Whelan, alongside classical violinist Cora Venus Lunny. Her tour with The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra of China included the live, nationally broadcast debut of her original compositions “Old Quarry” and “Slide,” co-written by John Doyle and arranged by Derek Gleeson, at the Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts Opera Theater.
Her collaboration and musical exploration with Riverdance composer Bill Whelan led them to be featured artists in the 2010 Masters in Collaboration Series produced by the New York Irish Arts Center, with additional performances in Holland and NYC. Athena also returned to Broadway and the NY Irish Arts Center for the 63rd annual production of An Irish Christmas, co-produced with Mick Moloney.
Athena was also a featured artist in the new show Heartbeat of Home from the producers of Riverdance for their North American premiere. Athena has spent the past ten years in the village of Montalcino in Tuscany, Italy, where she and her husband own an award-winning winery, Terralsole.
