Adrian Snell (born 1954) is an English pianist, keyboard player, singer and composer.

Biography

Classically trained at the

Leeds College of Music Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populatio ...

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 The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

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 St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

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 The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

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.

''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 concentra ...
. 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 Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include: * Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United * Carla A ...

, 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. 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 Goodbye, Good bye, or Good-bye is a parting phrase and may refer to: Film * ''Goodbye'' (1918 film), a British drama directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Goodbye'' (1995 film) (''Tot Ziens!''), a Dutch film directed by Heddy Honigmann * ''Goodbye'' ...

'' - (

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 Phil ...

) * '' Listen to the Peace'' - (

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...

) * '' Something New Under the Sun'' - (

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 song ...

) * ''The Passion'' - (

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

) * ''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 off ...

) * '' The Virgin'' - (

) * ''Adrian Snell Classics'' - (

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

) * '' Midnight Awake'' - (

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'' - (

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 Southeast As ...

) * ''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 Alpha (Α or α) and omega (Ω or ω) are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and a title of Christ and God in the Book of Revelation. This pair of letters is used as a Christian symbol, and is often combined with the Cross, Chi ...

'' - (

) * ''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 ru ...

) * ''Song of an Exile'' - (

) * ''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 Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

) * ''Kiss the Tears'' - (

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

) * ''We Want to Live'' - (

) * ''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 peace ...

) * ''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 Ma ...

) * ''City of Peace - Moriah'' - (

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

) * ''City of Peace - Part Two (My Every Breath)'' - (

) * ''My Heart Shall Journey - The Best of Adrian Snell'' - (

) * ''Light of the World'' - (

) * ''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'' - (

) * ''The Early Years 1975 - 1981'' - (

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 ...

) * ''I Dream of Peace'' - (

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

) * ''The Cry, a requiem for the lost child'' - (

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

) * ''Every Place is Under the Stars'' - (2006) * ''Fierce Love'' - (2013)

Video albums

* ''Live at Flevo'' (Video Tape) - (

)

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