Jan Westermann studied in Munich with Franz Bach, Peter Sadlo and Arnold F. Riedhammer. He was a scholarship holder at the Kurt Sanderling Academy of the Konzerthausorchester. Before joining the Konzerthausorchester, he gained experience in renowned orchestras throughout Germany. He has performed with the percussion ensemble Sadlo and Friends and has played in the Konzerthaus series Hope@9PM and with the Horenstein Ensemble. Jan Westermann’s personal interest is the delightful fusion of percussion and electronics. He develops individualised programmes for clubs and other venues. Jan Westermann is a member of the current media advisory board.

As a percussionist, you use an unbelievably extensive and very diverse set of instruments, which gives you an enormous stylistic spectrum. The palette ranges from noise-intensive instruments to classical membrane instruments like the snare drum to melodic instruments like the xylophone, marimba and vibraphone, for which there is also a rich solo and chamber music repertoire. In the orchestra, percussion is not used as consistently as other instruments – depending on the era – but it is often used for incisive, significant passages of a work.

A small selection of my favourites: Bach, Brahms, Mahler, Ravel, Debussy, Shostakovich and Steve Reich.