Frank Berger

I first saw and heard a Hurdy Gurdy in Budapest, Hungary, in 2012. I immidiately fell in love with the completely unique sound. When I came home I started to learn more about the instrument, and to save up for one.

My Hurdy Gurdy was built by Billy Horne in Turku in 2008, and I bought her in 2013. The Hurdy Gurdy is one of the coolest, if not the coolest, instrument in existence. This is an instrument with huge personality, so I decided to name her Hildegard after the medieval polymath Hildegard of Bingen.

Later, in 2021-2022, I was an apprentice att Billy's workshop. During that time, the two of us together constructed my electric Hurdy Gurdy.

I've taken lessons for the great Johannes Geworkian Hellman in Stockholm, Sweden. Check out his stuff if you're interested in Hurdy Gurdy music. I've studied also for Marianne Maans in Turku, Finland, with focus on learning Fenno-Swedish folk melodies.

I mostly play while performing with my band Ratatosk, but I also love to experiment with other kinds of songs and styles. I have played the Hurdy Gurdy on professional recordings for, among others, Paul Oxley's unit, and Marco Luponero and the Loud Ones.