"SNOW HAS THE RIGHT TOUCH FOR ALL OF THE GROOVES, WHETHER EVOKING THE SPIRIT OF HENDRIX, MILES OR THE METERS." -MODERN DRUMMER
"SNOW NEVER RUNS OUT OF INNOVATIVE RHYTHMS." - CHARLOTTE MAGAZINE
Percussionist, Drummer, and Educator, Dr. Adam Snow is the Director of Percussion Studies at California State University - Los Angeles. Hailing from North Carolina, he formerly oversaw the percussion programs at Winthrop University and Davidson College. His diverse musical background has greatly shaped his voice as an artist and as an educator.
Over the years, Adam has had the opportunity to perform with jazz masters such as Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Cyrus Chestnut, and Russell Malone, New Orleans funk legend George Porter Jr. of The Meters, celebrated tenor Andrea Bocelli, Tony and Emmy Award-winning Broadway star Kristen Chenoweth, Grammy-winning Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, Trinidadian steel pan phenom Liam Teague, Celtic fiddler Jamie Laval, South African kora master Pops Mohamed, Guinean Djembefolas Bolokada Conde and Mohamed Da Costa, Shona mbira visionary Chartwell Dutiro, Afro-Cuban percussion virtuosos Jesus Diaz and Michael Spiro, and the late, great Clarence "Big Man" Clemons of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.
From 2002 to 2008, Snow toured the United States with the modern jazz trio called Green Light. The band’s four albums were met with critical acclaim and during his tenure with Green Light, Snow shared the stage with artists such as John Scofield, Charlie Hunter, Oteil Burbridge, Kofi Burbridge, Wayne Krantz, Jimmy Herring, Keith Carlock, and Melvin Seals, among others. Green Light's albums are available via Spotify.
In 2013, Adam began touring with the New York City-based band Matuto. The self-proclaimed “Pioneers of Brazilian Bluegrass” blend elements of Forró from the Northeast of Brazil with Americana, Old Time, and Bluegrass. The Chicago Sun-Times puts them at “the heights of world music sophistication" and Jazz Times magazine calls them “weird, wonderful, unorthodox, and delightful.” Through the U.S. State Department’s American Musicians Abroad (AMA) program, Matuto has traveled the globe as ambassadors for American culture and Adam has had the opportunity to travel and perform with Matuto in Europe, South America, Canada, and from coast to coast in the United States.
Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2019, Snow has found inspiration in working with world-class players of Jazz, Rock, Funk, Pop, Reggae, Brazilian, Irish, West African, Orchestral, & New Music and with his talented colleagues and students at Cal State LA.
Adam received a Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degree from Winthrop University. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Snow is a member of Percussive Arts Society, Jazz Educators Network, National Association for Music Education, The Society for Ethnomusicology, and Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society. He is a contributor to the Percussive Arts Society's journal Percussive Notes, has served on the PAS World Percussion Committee, and is an artist endorser for Innovative Percussion. Snow has compositions published by Bachovich Music Publications and C. Alan Publications.