His parents wanted him to play the accordion, but the son had other ideas. He was born in 1968 in Illingen (Saarland). During a Carnival celebration there, he was overwhelmingly inspired by the percussion instruments, which immediately became an important anchor for the future. All his other activities became more and more superficial, which basically gave him no other choice than to make it his profession.
Dirk Rothbrust studied from 1986-1994 with Franz Lang and Isao Nakamura at the Musikhochschule in Saarbrücken and Karlsruhe. Classical repertoire and subsequently contemporary works awaited the students there. Playing a drum set in rock bands or with the Illingen wind band was no longer required. His diversity in musical taste has however remained. Jazz, improvisation and all sorts of other combinations still cause his pulse rate to increase, along with a fascination to cross over musical boundaries.
Dirk Rothbrust says, „It is fascinating to search for different sounds with percussion. A percussionist can almost make anything resonate, and then with further experimenting can refine that sound’s quality“
He has been a member of the “Schlagquartett Köln” (Cologne percussion quartet) since 1995. His regular work there and with various other ensembles have given him an ideal forum to focus on further experimentation, augmentation and development of his diverse musical ideas. Dirk Rothbrust became a member of Ensemble Musikfabrik in 2006.