Niels van Hoorn (Leiderdorp 19-09-1970) received his first drum lessons at the age of seven. In 1982 he was accepted into the 'talent school' program at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. After attaining his diploma he was then accepted into the main subject course at the same institute, where he was tutored by Luuk Nagtegaal, Wim Vos and Ali N'Diaye. In 1993 he attained his diploma in the 'Performance and Teaching of Music'. This was followed by a two-year study period ‘drums’ at the Rotterdam Conservatory

Since 1994 Niels has been a member of the percussion/theatre group 'Percossa'. From 1995 until 1999 he also played in 'Circle Percussion', an ensemble specialised in the form of Japanese percussion and since its inception in 1992 he has been a member of African percussion ensemble ‘Anumadutchi’.Niels is also active in the freelance industry, working with various orchestras and ensembles, and is teaching at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague.