Carolyn Hagler

Cello

Carolyn Hagler moved from California to Austin to begin studies on a Master of Music degree at the University of Texas. After completing her degree, she won a position with the New World Symphony in Miami Florida, where she worked with Michael Tilson-Thomas and Leonard Bernstein. Carolyn is the founder and director of the Barton Strings, and a tenured member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra. She has recorded with Joe McDermott on his latest CD and on the “Spy Kids 2” soundtrack and has performed with Steve Wariner and the late Chet Atkins on a TNN special and with the Nelson Brothers on a PBS special.

Darrel Mayers

Guitar, Music director

Mayers views Mundi as a type of 'early music experiment,'   a project that forges cultural bridges between the often separate worlds of folk and classical music, early and contemporary music, and between old world and new world cultures. In his formative years he toured France and Spain with the Holmewood House choir, an experience which he thinks helped to shape his compositional style. Having grown up in Sussex, England, Darrel began studying with Scottish composer Kenneth Dempster after moving to London in the early 1990s, and assembled a quartet (flute, tabla, cello and guitar) called the Musicians of Bremmen. Upon moving to Austin this same formation coalesced into a world fusion group Happy Valley. They released two albums - ‘Children of Gods’, and ‘Voyage into Indigo’ - the second one acclaimed by Billboard magazine. He has composed soundtracks for the CD-ROM “Wings of Fire”, and is currently teaching percussion at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.  Contact.

Bruce Colson

Violin

With a strictly classical upbringing, Colson started playing violin at age 7, performing professionally by 16, and by college was a member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Bruce holds a degree in music from the University of Texas.  He also enjoys musical theater, playing with Zachary Scott, Austin Musical Theater, Zilker Summer Musical, and the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin. He is a member of the Austin Lyric Opera and the Victoria Symphony Orchestra and performs with choral groups around Austin as well as the Golden Arm Trio and the Golden Hornet Project. Hear him on soundtracks for both Hollywood and local productions and on stage with the likes of Red Skelton, Ray Price, Rod Stewart and Garth Brooks to name a few.  Contact.

Mario Gonzalez

Bass

Mario met Mayers in the mid 1990s and they collaborated for 6 years in Happy Valley. His style stems from the improvisational, play by-ear-tradition of many of his greatest influences. Mario’s bass lines have been an integral part of his collaborations with Mayers in Happy Valley’s two CDs and Mundi’s unique sound—not to mention his percussion work live and on Mundi’s recordings.

Ric Furley

Percussion

A native of Corpus Christi, Ric was drawn to percussion from an early age. With encouragement from his mother Pat, a harpist with the Corpus Christi Symphony, Ric developed fast, and by the age of 17 had joined his mother as member of the symphony. Ric studied with Norm Weinberg, an electronic percussion pioneer, and has toured Mexico with Flecha de Tiempo. He also played at the Kennedy Center with Urban 15.  Contact.

About Mundi: With classical guitar, violin, cello, bass, and an arsenal of percussion (both traditional and found), Mundi masterfully creates a sound that is rich, celebratory, dynamic, and deeply emotive.  The quintet displays a healthy disregard for where the boundaries of folk, classical, and rock lie. The truth is, this ensemble's vision is old and new, classical and contemporary.

"Right this second,

Mundi is my favorite Austin musical act."

Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman

"Epic, uplifting, and ultimately inspiring in the way that only great art can be."

Barry Pineo, The Austin Chronicle

"The Book and the Flower has become one of my all-time favorite albums."

Maestro Peter Bay, Austin Symphony Orchestra

"Very fond of this band”...”really, really good."

John Aeilli, KUT Radio's Eklektikos

"...among the most intoxicating inventions

this music-mad city has distilled."

Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman

"The intersection of styles results in the spirited musical experience that is Mundi."

Jennifer Lloyd, Victoria Advocate