Collection: Dirkjan van Groningen

Dirkjan van Groningen is a professional percussionist, educator, composer and musical entrepreneur from Zwolle, The Netherlands. He was born in Kampen in 1971 and was introduced to percussion at the age of eight by a local community band.

During high school he played in several well known Dutch bands, drum corps, percussion ensembles and orchestras. In 1993 he joined Dutch Boy Drum & Bugle Corps from Canada to compete in DCI.

After high school, he studied percussion at the Artez conservatory in Zwolle. In 1998, he got his degree in classical percussion and in 1999 he graduated in pop and jazz drums. 

As an educator he’s teaching drums and percussion at Quintus center for art education. In addition to that he’s providing guest rehearsals alt different band and percussion ensembles. As a drummer and percussionist, he’s active in various bands and occasional ensembles in The Netherlands and abroad. 

His arrangements and compositions for bands and concert percussion ensembles are widely used across Europe. To share his knowledge and expertise, he has been invited to provide clinics and workshops in Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, and Poland in recent years.

Over the last few years, his music has gained increasing recognition in the United States after being signed as a composer with Row-Loff Productions. Several of his percussion ensemble compositions have been included in the Texas Prescribed Music List and the Florida State Music List over the past few years, making them accessible to schools and ensembles in these regions.

Dirkjan has been the creative director of Concert & Marching Music for over 25 years, with Band Music Center handling distribution in the USA. He’s endorsed by Soultone Cymbals, Salyers Percussion and Evans Drumheads.