German Jazz Philharmonic

Heads // Daniel Häker

Since 1995, Daniel Haeker has been employed as timpanist and percussionist with the Wuppertal Symphony, and since 1998, he is also a member of the orchestra committee. In addition to his work as a classical musician, he occupies himself extensively with Jazz, Blues and Rock music. During his student days in Essen, Copenhagen and Duesseldorf, he learned to play timpani and classical percussion from teachers like Werner Thaerichen, Bent Lylloff and, above all, Reinhold Gieschke, but at the same time, he took regular drumming lessons with former WDR Big Band drummer Sperie Karas and at the Drummers institute in Duesseldorf. Daniel Haeker is the drummer of twoBluesrock Bands and is a founding member of the ClassiCool Quintet, which dedicates itself to performing Claude Bolling’s Jazz Suites, and in 2003, on the occasion of participating in the Hellenic Festival in Athens, he founded the German Jazz Philharmonic.

“A lot of the classically trained musicians are interested in Rock, Pop and Jazz music as well”, he says, “and I am absolutely one of them. I simply love to play the drums! But I love classical music just as much. So I am constantly on the lookout for possibilities to combine the different styles of music which inspire me, and the German Jazz Philharmonic is my biggest project in this regard.”

In addition, Daniel Haeker is teaching drums and percussion at the Wuppertal University and is one of the timpani and percussion instructors for the International Young Orchestra Academy.