Who is DirQ

DirQ was born Dirk Metzlar in Leeuwarden on 5 April, 1975. He grew up in Frisian Ferwerd, a village on the Wadden coast with 1900 inhabitants. Early on, his interest in music was piqued. Every Sunday he heard his pake (grandfather) playing the harmonium when he visited his grandparents. That's what he wanted too! After first studying the recorder for a year, Dirk was finally allowed to take organ lessons on 1 november 1983, at the age of eight. Rigt Wiersma skillfully gave him a solid foundation, after which Harke Iedema from 1989 onwards taught him to explore the path of composition and improvisation. With results: on 25 november 1989 Dirk won the Organ Competition of the Frisian music schools.

In 1997, Dirk successfully passed the entrance exam for the Conservatorium Groningen for the study of electronic composition. For the next five years Dirk learned to produce, compose and arrange with great dedication. The studio became a second home. During this period Dirk also discovered his aptitude for singing, preferably in as many voices as possible. Creating and singing background choruses became a specialty. In 2002, Dirk graduated as a composer, music producer and Studio engineer.

Already during his studies Dirk worked a lot with Matthijs van der Veer. Once graduated, the work only started well. Music productions for cabaret, performing arts, film, documentaries, animations, poetry competitions, and what not. In 2002, Dirk even performed on Lowlands, together with Matthijs and Lamelos , and in 2005 Jeen performed the song Een Leven Lang (A Lifetime) at the National Song Festival, a song written by Rainier Ypma, and a production by Dirk and Matthijs. Also, Dirk's production Take You Home featured on TMF-MTV for six weeks in 2005, with a music video of Alan. D. Joseph.

From 2006 to 2011, an annual celebration was the multimedia framework of the final manifestation of Doe Maar Dicht Maar. The animations of Margriet Westerhof Throwing Up The Earth (2005) and Soup (2009), were given the space they deserved by Dirk, giving them a 5.1 Surround Sound sound-track.

In addition, Dirk has been teaching on a project basis at various schools for secondary education, ranging from VMBO to VWO. He has also given private lessons where he has gained a lot of experience as a teacher for students who need extra attention, such as students with Asperger's syndrome.

In november 2009, the big crossing to Amsterdam was ventured. From Amsterdam, Dirk has been working on the sound design, mixing and mastering for various documentaries, including for VOF Een Nederlandse Geschiedenis (2010), for Schwung Visuell (2010-2011) and Videvos (2010).

After Dirk met Don van Zanten in 2012, things went fast. The collaboration turned out to be a hit. After having already done a full evening program in the Scheepvaartmuseum in 2013, they performed during Amsterdam Gay Pride 2013 as The Poppers on the Zeedijk stage. In the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons, the duo performed monthly in The Getto.
The number of performances steadily expanded: Überfag (2013) in The Queen’s Head, en Soirée Frivolette Culinette in het Paleis van de Weemoed (2015).
An annual (Christmas)feast was Symphonica In Casa Rosso, where the duo presented themselves as Christmas tree or Christmas Elf.
Also, The Poppers , to their own surprise, won the Eurosong Travestival 2016!

Dirk is becoming more and more active during the annual Amsterdam Pride at various events. One of the absolute highlights was the Floating Theatre during the Canal Parade of Amsterdam Pride 2017. Dirk can also be found more and more often in the care homes with a pink carpet in and around Amsterdam, to sing and play beautiful Dutch listening songs.

In 2017, Dirk started working with Niki Today, Miss Travestie Holland 2016 and ambassador of Amsterdam Pride.
Since then, a number of singles have been released, with several performances during Amsterdam Pride as a result. Dirk also guided Niki in her participation in Holland's Got Talent.
Due to Covid-19, Amsterdam Pride 2020 could only be celebrated online. Niki and DirQ took an advance on this by singing with a number of celebrities and artists from the community: it's okay!

At Pride 2020, a trio of Niki Today Shows aired on PrideTV, with Dirk on the wing and many guests from the community. This turned out to be a success, which is why Niki and DirQ were allowed no less than four full evenings around Christmas and New Year 2020 Niki Today Shows, which were broadcast prime time on OUTtv.

In 2021, Niki and DirQ devoted themselves to making a real album. This album was released on August 7, 2021. A week earlier, the album had already been streamed via various online platforms.

This is yet to come