JACKY SNELLING

COLLABORATION:

Jacky Snelling is currently part of Hats + Heel Collection engraving team, where they help to finalize arrangements for publication. As a part of this role, they also assisted with the creation of the 2025 album Nollaig Na mBan: A Little Christmas. Not only did Jacky assist in studio by providing feedback and ideas, but they pulled together the various holiday H+H arrangements into one cohesive and legible package. In addition, Jacky was commissioned to arrange a piece for the album - “Up on a Housetop” for bassoon, harp and piano in a boogie woogie style.

ABOUT :

Jacky Snelling is an American composer, pianist, director, and arts administrator whose influences span many genres from Ahmad Jamal, Brad Mehldau and Lili Boulanger to Earth, Wind, and Fire and Ben Folds. They describe their compositions and improvisations as a meshing of all the different artists and performers that inspire them, regardless of background or genre. Currently based in Rochester, New York, their works have been played and performed by a variety of groups nationwide, including the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the 442’s, Quatuor Diotima, Khemia Ensemble, and the Ithaca College Jazz Ensemble, as well as numerous jazz and classical ensembles at Eastman and the University of Missouri. Their compositions have won nationwide awards, including one from Downbeat Magazine.

Jacky currently serves as the Assistant Director of Operations of the contemporary music festival New Music On the Point, and previously worked as Program Director and Production Coordinator of the Missouri International Composers Festival. They previously directed the Eastman Chamber Jazz Ensemble, and served as assistant director of the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble.

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Jacky holds a master’s degree in jazz and contemporary media and a certificate in arts leadership from the Eastman School of Music, as well as a bachelor’s degree in composition from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Past mentors include Christine Jensen, Gary Versace, Stefan Freund, Yoshiaki Onishi, and Leigh Muñoz.

Beyond music, Jacky is an avid traveler, a lover of geography, a follower of St. Louis sports, and a fan of strategy games.