Academic
Adrian is currently undertaking a PhD at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (supervised by Dr Carrie Churnside and Professor Shirley Thompson), carrying out research into sacred music, liturgy and neo-Latinity in mid-17th-century Rome, with a focus on the motet anthologies of Florido de Silvestris.
His article on 17th-century Roman motet texts and Jesuit spirituality was published in October 2023 in Baroque Latinity as part of the Bloomsbury Neo-Latin Series. Other publications include book and recording reviews for journals including Early Music and Music & Letters; he is also a contributor to the on-going Catalogue of Motets, Mass, Office, and Holy Week Music Printed in Italy, 1516-1770 compiled by Jeffrey Kurtzman and Anne Schnoebelen.
Adrian’s other academic interests, focusing on the history and philosophy of music, include the Neapolitan madrigal school, the Cathedral archives in Mdina, Malta, and modern musical education theory.
Conference presentations include papers on the motet in 17th-century Rome, patronage and dedicatees, neo-Latin texts, musical and literary associations of the unaccompanied madrigal in 16th- and 17th-century Naples, issues of biographical and bibliographical research in Baroque Rome, and on the conservatoire in the 21st century. He is currently working on a complete critical edition of the sacred motet anthologies of Florido de Silvestris, as well as being engaged in revising his Master’s thesis – on the Neapolitan composer Agostino Agresta – for publication.
Adrian also teaches and supervises undergraduates at the University of Cambridge and at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in topics including music history and performance practice.
Additionally, Adrian has extensive experience of preparing musical scores, ranging from songs and choral pieces to orchestral works and operas.
His work includes the production of new editions from original sources, as well as arranging works for different performing forces. He is also an experienced proofreader, writer of programme and booklet/liner notes, and translator into English from French, German, Italian, and Latin.
Organisations Adrian has collaborated with include Arcangelo, Cambridge University Opera Society, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Classical Opera, Ex Cathedra, Iford Arts, Le Concert d’Astrée, Les Talens Lyriques, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Adrian’s scores, booklet notes, and translations have been used in numerous performances and recordings across the world, including the following:
