Adrian Kelly

Born in 1974 in Lancashire, England and raised in Perth, Western Australia, Adrian Kelly began playing trumpet at the age of six. He has since become one of the most sought after musicians in Asia. Over the past two decades, Adrian has built an international career as a multi faceted musician; performing, recording and writing pop, classical, and jazz music.

Adrian’s first performances in China were with pop superstar, Jacky Cheung, in 2007. A deep affection for the region saw Adrian move to Hong Kong in 2010 and since then he has performed and/or recorded with many of the top artists in the region, including Jacky Cheung, YangKun, Eason Chan, Joey Yung, George Lam, Mimi Lo, J.Arie, Eddie Ng, and Hins Cheung. Adrian has appeared as a guest soloist on QingHai TV’s “Flowers” music program, and performed for live broadcasts on Hong Kong’s TVB, and RTHK. In 2012, he performed live in front of former Chinese head of state, Hu JinTao.

Adrian’s jazz group, The Adrian Kelly Quartet, has performed throughout Asia including performances in Beijing, Haikou, Shenzhen, GuangZhou, ChongQing, Hong Kong (China), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and Perth (Australia). In 2013 the group were a headline act at the first ChongQing International Jazz Festival, and featured at the 2014 Haikou international Youth Experimental Arts Festival.

Adrian currently holds the position of principal trumpet with The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. He has played on over 30 musical theatre productions, and performed classical music with The Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, The Hong Kong Philharmonic, The WA Philharmonic, and Dunshan Wind Orchestra (Beijing). Over the course of his career, Adrian has appeared alongside many western artists including Hugh Jackman, Ray Charles, Shirley Bassey, Tim Minchin, Olivia Newton-John, Ben Folds, Dave Weckl, Bobby Shew, Frank Foster, and The Manhattan Transfer. Adrian has taught classes in jazz and trumpet at Edith Cowan University, The University of Western Australia (Australia), Lasalle College (Singapore), Hong Kong Institute of Education, ShangHai Conservatory of Music, XingHai University, Harbin Teacher Training College (China).

Adrian’s compositional credits include arranging music for classical ensembles The Western Australian Symphony Orchestra and The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, writing for Asian pop artists Jacky Cheung, Joseph Koo, Eddie Ng, Candy Lo, scoring music for Qinghai TV (China), and composing for numerous jazz groups and show bands in Australia and Hong Kong. Adrian co-wrote the score for the Helpmann Award winning production, Stella and the Moonman, and his jazz compositions were featured on The Artists of the New York Trumpet Company album, Intercontinental Drift. In 2007 he won the WA Music Industry Song of the Year Award for his composition Curious Yellow.

2012 saw the release of Adrian’s latest CD, Chinese Whispers 細語, featuring music from and inspired by China. From December 2012 to late 2013, this album was selected to be featured on Cathay Pacific flights as part of their onboard music offerings.

“I have been using the same Loredo for over seven years. It’s been around the world several times over, and it still looks great! I never need to worry about the safety of my trumpets in my Torpedo Bag.” — Adrian Kelly.

Adrian tours all over the world with his black leather Loredo.