Adan Hagley

Adan Hagley is a pianist/arranger/composer from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. His musical journey began at the age of 8 at the Stafford Duncan School of Music, where he studied the piano and music theory fundamentals under the direction of Mrs. Pricilla Duncan. He began to hone his musical skills at the age of 16, mainly through his involvement in the St. Anthony’s R.C Choir along with various ensembles in Presentation College San Fernando; his alma mater. These ensembles represented the school at the 2008 Trinidad and Tobago Music Festival; where he was awarded the first place prize in the Piano Solo (ages 16-19), for class twenty-nine. He joined forces with his classmates at Presentation College to form the band “Circle of 5ths”, who performed during the 2008 Tobago Jazz Festival Weekend. The experience gained while performing at Presentation College would prove to be pivotal in his decision to dedicate his life to music.

In 2009 Adan was accepted into Berklee College of Music in Boston and graduated in 2013 with a Bachelors of Music in Contemporary Writing and Production. At Berklee he was exposed to the highest level of musicianship, which inspired him to continue to strive for musical excellence. While in Boston, he performed with many amazing musicians such as The Urban Nerdz and The Mark Vialva Quintet to name a few. In 2011, he shared the stage with Andy Narell at A Night of Steel Pan with the Earl Brooks Jr. band, and in 2012 he was selected to perform for the Berklee College of Music Piano Department Student Concert.

Since returning to Trinidad in 2014, Adan has been performing with a number of talented musical groups. These include jazz vocalist Vaughnette Bigford, The Dayo Bejide Jazz Project, violinist Inge Schlüer and Richarde Bereaux and the Lutionaires.

Adan is versed in a variety of musical genres, ranging from Calypso to Latin, Jazz, Funk, Pop and R&B. This versatility allows him to arrange and compose music for any instrumentation including rhythm section with vocals, big band, steel pan and even an orchestra. He recently composed the score for a new short film entitled, “Flying The Coup”, directed by Ryan Lee. “Flying the Coup” took home the people’s choice award for best short film in the 2014 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.

Currently Adan teaches music at Holistic Primary School in Cascade.

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