Dan Sailer is from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He is currently the ensemble director for Groove Pursuit (PIA) and an instructor with Groove Inc., the largest percussion academy in the Midwest. Sailer is also the percussion arranger for Lincoln HS Patriot Marching Band, and an adjunct Professor of Percussion at Dordt University (Sioux Center, IA) and Northwestern College (Orange City, IA) where he also conducts the Women’s Choir. Dan is the Principal Percussionist of the Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra and has also played with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra.
Dan graduated from Concordia University, St. Paul in 2014 with a double major in K-12 Vocal and Instrumental Education and a minor in Lutheran Confessionalism. At CSP, Dan was involved in the Christus Chorus directed by Dr. David Mennicke, Concert Band and Percussion Ensemble directed by Aaron Isakson, composition lessons with Abbie Betinis, as well as being involved in musical theatre and acting.
Sailer was a snareline member of the world champion Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps from 2007-2010 (Rockford, Il) and the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps from 2011-2012 (Santa Clara, CA). He has received awards in many snare drum solo contests, most notably the Drum Corps International Individual and Ensemble Competition (5th place, 2011), and the Percussive Arts Society Snare Drum Competition (2nd place, 2010). Dan has been a percussion staff member for Irondale HS, River City Rhythm Indoor and Drum Corps, Minnesota Brass, the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps. He is currently the Battery Coordinator at the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps (Casper, WY).
Dan spent the 2014-2015 school year teaching in New Amsterdam, Guyana, South America at the Guyana Lutheran Music Academy. He was one of three pioneering teachers who helped start GLMA, a community music program that teaches students of all ages and backgrounds how to play, read, sing, perform, and create music. The GLMA motto is “enriching lives through music education for all.”
Dan graduated with his Master’s Degree in Percussion from the the University of North Texas in May of 2019. His professors include Mark Ford, Paul Rennick, Christopher Deane, Ed Smith, and Eugene Corporon. Performance credits include the Texas Music Educators Association Convention Showcase Concert with the Canadian Brass, recording with the North Texas Wind Symphony Ryan Anthony, principal trumpet of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and master classes with Frederic Macarez, Andy Narell, and Wei-Chen Lin.