Snijders, Rob (NL)

Rob Snijders was born on September 4, 1969 in Deurne, The Netherlands.

At present he moves seemingly effortlessly between his endeavors as a composer of contemporary music and his activities as a rock musician.

At the age of 6, Rob started private lessons in classical percussion. After hearing the British pop band The Police and their drummer Stewart Copeland, he began playing drums and received his first drum kit at the age of 10.
After graduating high school, he enrolled at the Brabants Conservatory in Tilburg and studied Classical Percussion with Willy Goudswaard and Jazz & Improvised Music with Frans van Grinsven. He also attended master classes with New York-based vibraphonist Arthur Lipman.
During his studies, he acquired skills in both classical and rock music. This led to him performing Edgar Varèse’s "Ionisation" with the Conservatory ensemble and meeting celebrated composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, while also being voted best national hard rock / heavy metal drummer by the Dutch percussion magazine "De Slagwerkkrant" in 1995.

For his graduation concert he composed a solo piece titled "Winds in the Desert" for vibraphone and percussion set - up.

In 1995, Rob joined the Dutch band KONG, already renowned at that time for pioneering the combination of loud guitars with electronic beats and samples. As a band member, he toured across Europe and co - wrote the album "EARMINeD", produced by Junkie XL. KONG was also known for their quadraphonic performances; each band member had his own small stage in one of the four corners of the venue, complete with its own amplification and lighting. In 1997, KONG adapted the piece "Time Machine" by composer Otto Ketting for their performance at the Otto Ketting Festival in The Hague.
Early 1998, Rob decided to leave KONG.

At that time, he had already started working on a project called "Ensemble Solitaire". He composed several pieces for a fictitious ensemble consisting of woodwinds, electric bass, keyboards, and pitched / unpitched percussion.

During that period, Rob also played several gigs with Snowy White (Thin Lizzy, Pink Floyd) and John Hayes (Mother’s Finest).

In the summer of 1998, he was invited to join the former doom metal group Celestial Season, which had shifted in the mid - nineties toward a more groove - rock / stoner rock style. With Celestial Season, he co - wrote and recorded three albums: "Chrome", "Lunchbox Dialogues", and "Songs from the Second Floor". They toured extensively throughout the Netherlands and Germany until the band disbanded in 2002.

In 2005, Rob began collaborating with librettist / director Daniël Cohen. They started composing a score for a new contemporary classical chamber opera, but the project was recently postponed as both Rob and Daniël became involved in other artistic endeavors. That same year, Rob joined Dutch indie rock band Merry Pierce.
That year, he also founded his own band, Flowers del Ocotillo Society, and began writing and demoing songs for their first album "Yearning Man Miniatures". Rob also teamed up with Dutch bands Drive By Wire and Buy The Grace as their live drummer.