Adrian Snell (born 1954) is an English pianist, keyboard player, singer and composer.
Biography
Classically trained at the
Leeds College of Music and with a music diploma to his name (LGSM), Snell's musical career spans nearly four decades. During this time he has produced twenty-three original albums: seventeen solo albums and six major concept works. His major commissions include: 'The Virgin' from the BBC, 'The Passion', recorded with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and premièred on
BBC Radio One
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
, 'The Cry: A Requiem for the Lost Child', premièred at
St Paul's Cathedral in aid of
Save the Children
The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
, and numerous Dutch commissions including HTV's special musical documentary, ''Song of an Exile'', recorded at
Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. He has performed extensively in the United Kingdom, Israel, the United States, Australia, and throughout Europe, and has had many TV and radio performances worldwide.
In the late 1990s, Snell semi-retired as a professional musician to train as a music therapist. This was a bold move by an artist whose albums and concerts attracted audiences across Europe. He completed the post graduate diploma in Music Therapy (Dip. Mus. Th.) awarded by the
University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
through the Faculty of Medicine. He now works as a Music Therapist and Arts Therapy Consultant for children with special needs at Three Ways School,
Bath, and regularly visits a school in Korce, Albania.
June 1995 saw the premier release of Snell's major, two album concept work ''City of Peace''. The work explores the Jewish roots of the Christian faith, drawing on poems written by Jewish authors spanning from six thousand years ago to the present day. ''City of Peace'' also comes as a climax to eleven years of searching and discovery that began with a journey into the lives of Jewish men, women, and children caught up in the
Nazi Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ar ...
.
''It is eleven years since I walked through the gates of Bergen Belsen
Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentr ...
. I shall never forget that day; it changed me in ways I couldn't have imagined. Music is, in the end, the language of my heart, so not surprisingly much of my writing since then expresses the search for answers and meaning in all that the Holocaust and Jewish history opens up in us.'' - Adrian Snell
Through his work as a music therapist, Snell drew inspiration to record another album, ''Fierce Love''. The album draws inspiration both from the relationships he has formed, and the extraordinary range of instruments that are central to his work and now contribute to the unique soundscape of the album. ''Fierce Love'' was released on 28 September 2013.
Family
His daughter,
Carla Jae, has followed in her father's footsteps and is now an accomplished singer-songwriter with The Carla Jae Band, also featuring William Rutherford and
Blain Weller Blain may refer to:
People
*Blain Morin (born 1960), Canadian politician
*Blain (surname)
Places
*Blain, Pennsylvania, U.S.
*Blaine Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
*Electoral division of Blain, Northern Territory, Australia
*Blain ...
.
His son Jamie has also pursued a music career and is currently part of the London-based band, Bird of Prey.
Discography
* ''
Fireflake'' - (
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
)
* ''
Goodbye October'' - (
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
)
* ''
Listen to the Peace
Listen may refer to:
* The action of listening
* Central auditory system listening is how the brain processes what you hear
* Listening behaviour types in human communication
Computing
* LISTEN, a TCP connection state on the server side indic ...
'' - (
1978)
* ''
Something New Under the Sun
''Something New Under the Sun'' is a 2021 novel by American writer Alexandra Kleeman. The novel takes place in the near future in which California has been rendered nearly uninhabitable by climate change
In common usage, climate chan ...
'' - (
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
)
* ''The Passion'' - (
1980)
* ''Cut'' - (
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
)
* ''
The Virgin'' - (
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
)
* ''Adrian Snell Classics'' - (
1982)
* ''
Midnight Awake
''Midnight Awake'' is the title of the eighth solo album by British singer-songwriter Adrian Snell.
Track listing Side one
# "Who's Laughing Now" (Adrian Snell/Tom Douglas)
# "Still Your Heart" (Adrian Snell/Tom Douglas)
# "Light on the Road" (A ...
'' - (
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
)
* ''
Feed the Hungry Heart
Feed or The Feed may refer to:
Animal foodstuffs
* Animal feed, food given to domestic animals in the course of animal husbandry
** Fodder, foodstuffs manufactured for animal consumption
** Forage, foodstuffs that animals gather themselves, su ...
'' - (
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
)
* ''The Collection 1975 - 1981'' - (
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
)
* ''
Alpha and Omega'' - (
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
)
* ''Cream of the Collection 1975 - 1981'' - (
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
)
* ''Song of an Exile'' - (
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
)
* ''Father'' - (
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
)
* ''Kiss the Tears'' - (
1992)
* ''We Want to Live'' - (
1992)
* ''Beautiful or What?!'' - (
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
)
* ''Solo'' - (
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
)
* ''City of Peace - Moriah'' - (
1996)
* ''City of Peace - Part Two (My Every Breath)'' - (
1996)
* ''My Heart Shall Journey - The Best of Adrian Snell'' - (
1996)
* ''Light of the World'' - (
1996)
* ''City of Peace'' - (
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
2 CD)
* ''Intimate Strangers'' - (
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
)
* ''The Early Years 1975 - 1981'' - (
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
3 CD)
* ''Poems Without Words / Seven Hills'' - (
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
)
* ''I Dream of Peace'' - (
2001)
* ''The Cry, a requiem for the lost child'' - (
2003)
* ''Every Place is Under the Stars'' - (2006)
* ''Fierce Love'' - (2013)
Video albums
* ''Live at Flevo'' (Video Tape) - (
1992)
Bibliography
* ''Alpha and Omega: Study Guide'' - (1988)
* ''Children of Exile'' (with Jenny Robertson) - (1990)
* ''City of Peace - A Journey to the Roots of My Faith'' (with Charles Stewart) - (1996)
*
Fierce Love: Music Leads a Lost Child Home' (Sacristy Press, 2019)
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snell, Adrian
1954 births
Living people
English composers
English keyboardists
English pianists
English male singers
British performers of Christian music
People from Northwood, London
Alumni of Leeds College of Music
British male pianists
21st-century pianists
21st-century British male musicians