Biography Thomas Sporrer

Thomas Sporrer is known for his work as a chamber and orchestra musician, as the drummer and/or percussionist for various bands and projects, and last but not least, as a soloist in a variety of styles. In addition to orchestral productions, his broad experience and talent allow him to shine within styles ranging from crossover to musical theater productions, as well as studio recordings for movies and television.

Thomas is currently a member of Martin Grubinger's - The Percussive Planet Ensemble, the Vivi Vassileva Extasi -Quartet, and the Japanese taiko group DRUMATURGIA. He is also part of the "Ensemble Clazzic", which is dedicated to the fusion of classical music and jazz, and a percussionist with "Power!Percussion".

Under the tutelage of Stefan Blum, Jörg Hannabach, Thomas Höfs and Guido Rückel, Thomas graduated with a degree in classical percussion – with distinction – from the Nuremberg-Augsburg University of Music (Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg-Augsburg) in 2009. Later on, during his master's program at the University of Augsburg, he was taught by Jost Nickel and Roland Peil. Remaining thirsty for knowledge, he has since continued his studies with the likes of Anika Nilles, Claus Hessler, Eliel Lazo, Stefan Maass, Rhani Krija and Yshai Afterman, broadening his musical horizons in the realms of gospel drumming and latin/pop percussion.

As an orchestral percussionist, Thomas Sporrer has appeared: as a solo timpanist at the State Opera in Cairo; as an apprentice with the Augsburg Philharmonic Orchestra; as a soloist with the Munich Radio Orchestra (Münchner Rundfunkorchester) and the Rhineland-Palatinate State Orchestra (Staatsorchester Rheinland-Pfalz) and within various productions offered by the Munich Symphony Orchestra (Münchner Symphonikern), e.g., the "Mandela Trilogy", "Lord of the Rings", "James Bond Nights", etc.). He has worked with conductors such as Wayne Marshall, Kevin John Edusei, Rudolf Piehlmayer, Ludwig Wicki, Anu Tali, Georg Schmöhe, Albert Horne, Ekart Wycik, Christian Schumann, Scott Lawton und Enrico Delamboye.

In 2011, along with Carl Amadeus Hiller and Japanese taiko virtuoso Takuya Taniguchi, he founded DRUMATURGIA, a group combining electrifying choreography with the raw power of Asian drums. Together, they present original contemporary works, including custom compositions from celebrated composers such as Wilfried Hiller, among others. The project also regularly collaborates with various ensembles, such as the Henschel Quartet, and avoids genre classification through its alter ego "Drumaturgia & Friends" – a larger lineup which delves into a crossover of jazz and world music.

From 2013 to 2017, Thomas Sporrer toured worldwide, with a band, as ambassadors for the Goethe Institut. During that time, the band enjoyed a long-standing cooperation with Germany’s public international broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Utilizing DW’s promotional vehicle of a “band video diary”, they performed across Europe, Asia, Africa and the USA, in front of thousands of enthusiastic learners of the German language. The band also played with renowned orchestras such as the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra and the Babelsberg Film Orchestra.

A particular highlight of his career to date was a concert in June 2021 by the Percussive Planet Ensemble, of which he has been a member since February 2020, together with Martin Grubinger and the Berliner Philharmoniker at the Waldbühne Berlin under the direction of Wayne Marshall.

A versatile percussionist, Thomas also explored the world of musical theater through projects with Cirque du Soleil, Team Extreme ("Vertical Orchestra") and Power Percussion. He was even featured as a soloist during the opening of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in a piece directed by André Heller and Christian Stückl.