Jan Pustjens, born on October 31 1946, was in life a gifted percussionist and a national and international music educator. Until his death he was also solo percussionist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. In addition to this he was professor of percussion and coordinator at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam where for decades he nurtured countless talented students, helping them with both their musical and personal development.

He studied at the Conservatory of Maastricht where he graduated cum laude. While he was studying he was appointed first percussionist and timpanist with the orchestra at Open Forum in Enschede. After his exams in 1968 he obtained the position of first percussionist in the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Amsterdam. In 1974 the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra appointed him to the same position. Four years later he was promoted to solo percussionist.

As a passionate star performer he travelled throughout the world and with that same passion and energy gave clinics and master classes for many years all over Europe, Asia and the United States. He was a pioneer of percussion in the Netherlands and throughout the world. In 1983 he founded a company in Amsterdam to deal in percussion instruments and related items: Pustjens Percussion Products. Since that time PPP has been a leader in the field of percussion and still delivers these products worldwide. On top of being an exceptional musical talent Jan was also a successful entrepreneur. 
Jan Pustjens passed away at the age of 64 on 7 January 2011 in Amsterdam. 

He received the personality prize from PASNL, the Netherlands Society for the Percussive Arts, which he was awarded for his efforts on behalf of Netherlands percussion and it’s promotion to an international standard as both a player and educator.