Dan Knipple, a native of York, PA, graduated cum laude from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1978. From 1980-2010 he served as the band director at Thomas Eaton Middle School in Hampton, VA. Under his direction, the Eaton Concert Band enjoyed the distinction of having received straight Superior ratings for 30 years in a row at the Virginia District VIII Band Festival. The Eaton Percussion Ensemble, of 30-40 members, was featured several times at the Virginia State Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society annual “Day Of Percussion.”

Dan is pleased to be in his thirty-third year of playing at the Williamsburg Inn on weekends with the Charles Costa Trio, where the trio has served as the house band in the Regency Dining Room for over 3 decades. Over the past 20+ years, Dan has performed numerous times with the Virginia Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Williamsburg Choral Guild, Virginia Choral Society, Tidewater Winds, and the Williamsburg Symphonia. He can frequently be seen playing in Williamsburg at the Bruton Parish and Williamsburg United Methodist Church, as well as various other chamber/church orchestras throughout the Tidewater area. From 1986 through 1991 he was also a member of the Virginia Beach Pops Orchestra under the direction of Walter Noona. For the past 9 years, Dan has held the position of principal percussionist with the Williamsburg Symphonia. Some of Dan’s symphonic recording credits include three CD’s with the Virginia Symphony, a contemporary music CD project with Dr. Jennifer Barker for Sony, and a Telarc release with the National Symphonic Winds. Since 1992, he has played in the vibraphone, marimba, and flute trio, “Special Music,” that performs music at wedding ceremonies with his wife, Michelle, and fellow percussionist, John Brewington.

In 1993, Dan’s composition, “Recital Duo,” was selected as the winning composition of the annual Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest, and is currently published by C. Alan Publications. Dan also arranged much of the music performed by his school percussion ensemble and the wedding trio. In addition to serving as a guest conductor from time to time for peninsula honors bands, Dan has presented a number of percussion clinics and master classes over the years for colleges, high schools, and fellow band directors throughout the state. In 1990 and 1999, he was voted Teacher Of The Year at Eaton Middle School, and was first inducted into Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 1996. Several years ago, he was awarded the City of Hampton’s prestigious “Leaders Count Award for Extraordinary Leadership.” Dan's long-standing interest in designing and constructing a wide variety of accessory items for use in his percussion playing and teaching led him to establish Percussion Solutions LLC upon his retirement from Hampton City Schools in 2010. Along with teaching private percussion lessons in his Hampton studio, he now spends much of his time doing percussion instrument repair/maintenance work for many of the school systems in the Tidewater area.