Andrew Snell was born in Taunton, Somerset, and started playing trombone at the age of 11. After playing with the local town bands and county youth bands and orchestras he moved to Manchester to study at University College, Salford.

After gaining a BA (Hons) in Band Musicianship he moved across the Pennines to take up the position of Bass Trombone with the world-renowned Grimethorpe Colliery Band.

With Grimethorpe he toured extensively, including Australia, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, France, New Zealand and Hong Kong, and won the National Brass Band Championships and the British Open Championships, the two premier band competitions in the UK. He was involved in the recording of many CDs, radio and television programmes, including the Eurovision Song Contest with an estimated audience of 100 million and the making of the hit film Brassed Off! for which Grimethorpe received two gold discs, one in the UK and another in Australia.

He left Grimethorpe in 2002, after 11 years as a member, and emigrated to New Zealand where he was engaged as Musical Director with Waitakere City ‘Trusts’ Brass; one of New Zealand’s premiere brass bands, whom he directed to become the Champion Band of Australia at Easter 2003 in Newcastle, New South Wales. Since leaving NZ for Australia in 2004 he has worked as Lecturer in Brass and Musicianship at Charles Darwin University, Orchestra Manager for the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra in Sydney before taking up the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music in May 2008. Until recently he was also Musical Director of the Willoughby Band, one of Australia’s top A grade bands.