Porter Ellerman (b.1999) is an American-born percussionist, composer, sound artist, and environmental activist residing in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. His work meshes musical performance practices with environmental activism — specifically, the relationship and power percussion has as a tool for connecting individuals to objects, waste, and facets of our environments. Porter is a classically trained percussionist with a deep passion for experimenting, innovation, and connectivity with audiences, whose work attempts to blur the line between performer and audience in search of a deeper connection to people, the performance space, and our earth. His interests are currently in working alongside theater, dance, and visual artists to develop a method and practice for environmental performance. Themes of connectivity, community, listening, and awareness permeate his creative work. 

Porter graduated with special distinction in his Master’s from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, participating for both years as the sole percussionist in the premiere contemporary group of the conservatory, the Ensemble Academy. He regularly has performed with Asko|Schönberg, Slagwerk Den Haag, and New European Ensemble among others. He has performed in numerous festivals across the Netherlands, creating original solo and chamber programs and collaborative project in the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, France, and Belgium, including Festival Classique, Festival Gent, Kurtag Festival, Delft Fringe Festival, and Klaterklanken Festival.

He has recently been invited to become a core member of the New European Ensemble in 2025, and continues to create meaningful projects with his ensemble Ear to the Earth, which develop workshops, performances, and community based events in Belgium and The Netherlands.

Outside of music, Porter loves to do anything outdoors, take long bike rides, learn about local wildlife and plants, and is currently creating instruments for performances using natural materials and found objects from local thrift stores.