who is dan?

Dan deSimone / Ididrum

Dan deSimone is an active American performer and composer currently living in Germany. Dan grew up in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia in the United States. After a few years of drumming on his own, he began taking drum lessons at the age of 10 and developed a serious connection to the sound of the instrument. In 2015, Dan met and began working with world-class marimbist/percussionist Ayami Okamura. They formed “Shiki Percussion Duo” in May 2015 and have since performed in many formations and ensembles throughout the world. In the fall of 2016, Dan flew to the Netherlands to participate in the TROMP Percussion Competition in Eindhoven, where he won 2nd Prize and the Audience Award for his unique performance style.

Since then, Dan has moved to Germany to freelance and continue as a contemporary solo and chamber musician. Among notable appearances, Dan revisited Japan as a featured soloist with Miss Okamura’s quartet “Legare Incontro”, has performed as a soloist and jury member at the 3rd IPEA International Percussion Competition in Shanghai, performed with “Shiki Percussion Duo” at Ivana Bilic’s “Ivana Bilic Marimba Week (IBMW)” in Croatia, and gives masterclasses alongside Ayami Okamura around the world.
Besides teaching drumset, Dan is currently a member of several ensembles including Berlin-based Contemporary Orchestra “Schwelbrand”, Improvisers Orchestra OWL, Shiki Percussion Duo, and Detmold Percussion Group, of which he is a founding member. Dan frequently composes music for himself and his duo as well video game music and SFX for the Minecraft Marketplace.

In his freetime, Dan also creates shortform video content on Instragram and Youtube under the pseudonym “Ididrum”