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bioHe started playing the steel pan at the tender age of eight. His deceased uncle, Leroy Thomas, was solely responsible for him learning the steel pan art form. Adrian’s grandmother who passed away on July 4, 2010, took him to and from rehearsals every night and made sure he was well cared for. She was also instrumental in his singing career and was also the one who pushed him into his academic studies. Adrian played pan with Moods Steel Orchestra for three years before he moved to Sforzata Steel Orchestra, where he was placed under the wings of Yohan Popwell, Derrick Nurse, Joslyn Earl, Roy Jones and Trevor Reid.
He fondly remembers his grandmother’s dedication in ensuring that he
attended rehearsals by accompanying him. During his tenure at Sforzata
Adrian learnt all about the “pan” fraternity and what it had to offer. He
was mostly inspired by Yohan Popwell who was the arranger for the band at
that time and gained lots of practical experiences. Thanks to his teachers
Williams Peters and Niasha Layne-Ford, Adrian was awarded a two-week
scholarship to the International Music Camp (IMC) where he played the steel
pan at a jazz band workshop on July 10, 2009.
As well as playing in the school steel band Adrian also arranged musical pieces for them. He has also completed the pan tuning course run by the Pan in the Class Room Co-coordinating Council. Jimmy “Jim” Phillip, his teacher was a big inspiration not only as a pan innovator, but as an arranger/tuner. Jimmy worked tirelessly with him on the actual art of making pans. Adrian attended the University of the West Indies (UWI), furthering his studies in Music. His vision for the future is to operate the biggest pan-making industry ever and become a great composer/arranger.
‘Pan In Front Meh Face’ Adrian’s first official pan song was released for the 2011 Panorama season.
