Andreas Vollenweider

Swiss musician, born October 4, 1953 in Zürich, Switzerland. His music has been categorized as World Music, Jazz, New Age and even Classical; two of his albums were number 1 on the Billboard charts simultaneously in the categories Classical, Jazz, Pop and Crossover for more than 11 weeks. His music could be described as very dynamic and colorful. His primary instrument is an electrically modified harp of his own design, but he also plays a wide variety of instruments from around the world, including the Chinese guzheng. His albums feature many musicians performing his compositions with him, ranging from simple solos to suites for orchestra and soloists. His music is mostly instrumental but he has occasionally forayed into vocal music as well.

His past collaborators include Bobby McFerrin, Carly Simon, Djivan Gasparyan, Eliza Gilkyson, Luciano Pavarotti, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Carlos Núñez, Ray Anderson, and Milton Nascimento.

Politically, Andreas Vollenweider is an outspoken pacifist and follower of the principles of non-violent conflict management of Mahatma Gandhi. On his website[1] he features quotes from Gandhi (among others), and in an effort to spread awareness of the American war in Iraq, he has also posted a ticker reflecting the current number of casualties in the conflict, both American and Iraqi.