Darin Kamstra is the Director of Jazz Studies and Percussion at Mesa State College. He currently holds the principal timpani/percussion position with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, performs actively as a jazz drummer across western Colorado, and appears frequently as a percussion and jazz clinician. Dr. Kamstra received a D.M.A. in Percussion Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, and he received degrees in Percussion Performance and Music Theory/Composition from the University of Northern Colorado (M.M.) and Eastern Washington University (B.M. & B.A.).

Previously, Dr. Kamstra was a Lecturer of Music in Percussion at Western State College of Colorado. He served as principal timpanist of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed with professional orchestras, jazz groups, and music theater companies throughout Colorado, Illinois, and the Pacific Northwest. Also an active composer and arranger, Dr. Kamstra’s works are published by Grand Mesa Music Publishers and Walrus Music Publications, and they have been featured at regional, national, and international conventions and at universities across the United States. He is a contributor to the Percussive Arts Society Online Research Journal, a Local Education Artist for Pearl/Adams Percussion, and a Regional Endorser for Sabian Cymbals.