GRAMMY-nominated percussionist Justin DeHart, originally from Sacramento, California, has built an international career spanning classical, pop, world, and electronic music. He was a member of the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet (LAPQ) from 2009 to 2022, and his musical resume includes performances with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, LA Phil New Music Group, I.C.E., red fish blue fish, and pop legends Stewart Copeland and Cheap Trick.
Primary percussion teachers include Daniel Kennedy, John Bergamo, and Steven Schick. Since 1999, Justin has been a North Indian tabla disciple of Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri (Lucknow gharana) and has also studied with Pt. Arup Chattopadhyay (Farukkhabad gharana). He traveled to India to study South Indian drumming with T.H. Vikku Vinayakaram and was later awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study mridangam with T.H. Subash Chandran for nine months in 2001.
Justin appears on over 100 solo, chamber, and contemporary releases across a wide range of labels, including Innova, HatHut, Mode, Sub Pop, and Rattle Records, among others. His debut album, Strange Paths, was lauded as “mesmerizing” by Percussive Notes for his “palette of sounds and intricate weaving of lines.” The Complete Early Percussion Works of Karlheinz Stockhausen won the Deutscheschallplattenkritikpreis for Best New Music Release of 2015. Justin’s Landfall: NZ Percussion Vol. 1 was a finalist for the Te Kaipuoro Inamata Toa | Best Classical Artist at the 2021 Aotearoa Music Awards, and Towards Midnight: NZ Percussion Vol. 2 was shortlisted for the Te Manu Taki Tuauki o te Tau | Best Classical Artist at the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards.
With degrees from CSU Sacramento (BM), CalArts (MFA), and UC San Diego (DMA), Justin brings extensive academic and performance experience to his role as Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is a Yamaha Performing Artist and an endorser of Black Swamp Percussion, REMO, Sabian, and Innovative Percussion Inc.