Andrew Powell facts for kids

Andrew Powell is a talented British musician. He is a composer, which means he writes music, and an arranger, meaning he helps organize music for different instruments. He also performs music. Andrew was born on April 18, 1949. His parents were from Wales, and he moved to Wales himself in 2003.

Andrew's Early Life and Music Training

Andrew Powell was born in Surrey, England. He started playing the piano when he was just four years old. Later, he went to King's College School in Wimbledon. By then, he was also learning to play the viola, violin, and orchestral percussion instruments.

He began writing his own music when he was eleven. Andrew later studied how to compose music with famous teachers like Karlheinz Stockhausen and György Ligeti in Germany. After that, he earned a master's degree in music from King's College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, he joined an electronic music group called Intermodulation. He also played in a progressive rock band called Henry Cow, where he switched between playing bass and drums.

Andrew's Musical Career

After finishing his studies at Cambridge, Andrew Powell's first professional performance was in London in August 1970. He played a piece called Keyboard Studies with Roger Smalley at the BBC Proms. He then worked with many orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He even worked with the famous conductor Pierre Boulez.

Andrew also started working as a session musician, which means he played instruments for recordings. He formed a group called "Come to the Edge." This group often performed with the amazing Japanese percussionist Stomu Yamashta.

Andrew as an Arranger

Andrew Powell's career as an arranger began around this time. An arranger takes a song and decides which instruments will play which parts. His first job was arranging the music for the band Cockney Rebel's first album. He also arranged their next two albums.

He worked with many other artists, helping them with their music. Some of these artists include Leo Sayer, John Miles (on his song "Music"), Donovan, and Cliff Richard. He also worked on several albums for Al Stewart, such as Year of the Cat. Andrew also arranged music for bands like Ambrosia, and musicians like David Gilmour and Chris Rea.

Working with The Alan Parsons Project

Andrew Powell was an important part of The Alan Parsons Project, a famous music group. He is listed as a member on their first album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination. For this album, he was an arranger, conductor, and composer. He continued to arrange and conduct music for almost all of their albums. Even after the group stopped making music together, he kept working with Alan Parsons. Andrew also performed live with Alan Parsons and Al Stewart. In 1983, he created an orchestral album of The Alan Parsons Project's songs, performed by The Philharmonia Orchestra.

Producing for Kate Bush

Andrew Powell helped the famous singer Kate Bush early in her career. He produced her three-song demo tape. He also produced her first album, The Kick Inside, in 1978. Later that same year, he helped produce her second album, Lionheart.

Andrew has also worked with many other artists, including Chris De Burgh, Nick Heyward, Michael Crawford, Elaine Paige, The Hollies, and the band Kansas.

Music for Movies and Orchestras

Andrew Powell wrote the music for the movies Ladyhawke and Rocket Gibraltar. He has also contributed to many other movie and TV projects. He has conducted orchestras and music groups all over the world. These include the Philharmonia Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also conducted famous brass bands like the Black Dyke Mills Band.

Recent Work

In more recent years, Andrew Powell has continued to be busy with music. He arranged and conducted music for Wouter Van Belle's album Wow & Flutter. He also wrote music for brass bands, including the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. He worked on an album called Stockhausen: Michael's Farewell, etc with John Wallace.

Two of his musical pieces had their first performances in Wales and London. Living Stones was first performed at St Davids Cathedral in Wales on October 27, 2007. Glasiad y dydd dros Ben Dinas was first performed at the City of London Festival on March 19, 2008.

After almost 30 years, Andrew returned to writing music for films in 2017. He composed original music for a science fiction short film called Here We Go Again, Rubinot!. The music from the film was released on a limited CD the next year.

Andrew Powell is also the artistic director of BluestoneArts. This is a company that helps promote music, words, and visual arts in north Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Personal Life

Andrew Powell moved to Wales in 2003. Before moving, he started learning the Welsh language. He is now a fluent speaker of Welsh.

See also

In Spanish: Andrew Powell para niños