Ethan James ~ Weichselbaumer

In 1999, California hurdy gurdy player Ethan James ordered an instrument from Viennese luthier Wolfgang Weichselbaumer. I visited Wolfgang's workshop just as he began working on the instrument and was able to surprise Ethan with a photo of his new hurdy gurdy in progress. Here's Ethan with the finished product. Ethan died in June of 2003. For his musical resume Click Here. An email received from Wolfgang Weichselbaumer upon hearing of Ethan's death: How sad news. I really enjoyed the time with Ethan here in Vienna and got to know him as a very sympathic and interesting person. He was one of the very few Hurdy-Gurdy players for whom 5 melodie strings and 4 trompets were really not too much. We will miss him. Wolfgang Main Page