Ethan Setiawan has a command of the mandolin far beyond his 20-some odd years and has won both the National Mandolin Championship at Winfield, Kansas and the Rockygrass Mandolin Championship. Called “creative and virtuosic” by WBUR, his path has wended its way through traditional bluegrass, Bach partitas, and free jazz. Ethan was one of three children who were homeschooled by folk-loving parents, so his childhood was untraditional and full of exploration. “As a teenager, I loved the idea of going to jams and having this community of people I could hang out with,” he says. He began driving to Chicago to take lessons with Don Stiernberg and traveled to California to attend The Mandolin Symposium. After finishing high school, Setiawan attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship.

His debut full-length album, Flux, is made up of original tunes drawing from the wells of bluegrass, jazz, and new acoustic music. On Gambit, his most recent release, Ethan takes the calculated musical risks of a seasoned player. He moves easily between stylistic influences, harking back to the experimental string band music pioneered in the early 1980s while presenting entirely original compositions.

In addition to his solo projects, Setiawan is an in-demand sideman and band member, and can be seen playing with Acoustic Nomads, Hildaland, and Darol Anger, among others.

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