Biography

Martijn Oostra (1993) is a conductor, composer, arranger and percussion teacher. He
comes from a musical family and was encouraged from an early age to develop his interest in
to explore classical music and composition.

At age 7, he began percussion lessons, which he received from his father at CMV Oranje Bolsward. He played with this percussion ensemble for about fifteen years, and from 2014 to 2021, he taught percussion there himself. He also conducted the B-band for several years.
the club's percussion ensemble. In 2011, he reached the finals of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble's composition competition and won the Young Talent Award, which allowed him to take composition lessons at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. Martijn received his HaFaBra conducting diploma from the Prince Claus Conservatory in Groningen in November 2021. He concluded his studies with a final concert with Soli Brass Leeuwarden, the championship division brass band where he was a percussionist from the ages of 14 to 20.

Martijn is currently the conductor of Percussion Ensemble Appingedam, De Bazuin Oenkerk B, and De Bazuin Winsum. He teaches percussion at Percussion Ensemble Appingedam and works irregularly as a percussion and AMV teacher for various clients.

As a composer, Martijn focuses mainly on melodic percussion compositions.
Examples of this are El Dorado (performed by Percussion Ensemble
Appingedam at the WMC 2022), Elements (compulsory work for the basic class of
the ONSK 2017) and The Conquer of the Kraken (performed by CMV Oranje
Bolsward at the 2019 National Championships).

He also composes for HaFaBra and arranges pieces in various formations and in diverse musical styles.