Meet Adina Nelu

My name is Adina Nelu, I’m a Romanian composer based in Manchester, and I specialise in writing music for films and media. I’ve recently become self-employed and started my own business with the support of the Launch business incubator at Salford University, where I graduated my Master’s Degree in 2018.

Earlier this year, I was awarded with the Santander CEO Fund that was made available to the emerging businesses taking part in the Launch programme. I actually applied for it during my first day of social distancing – the first of many to come. Gradually, I found out that I wasn’t eligible for the Government financial support for the Self Employed or any of the schemes designed to support the music industry, due to not having been trading for long enough. This made me feel out of place and left out in a country that had previously welcomed me and made me feel so safe. Finding out that I was one of the three recipients of the award was especially motivating at the time because it showed me that my work was being appreciated and it was worth supporting after all. Above all, receiving this award made a huge difference in the impact that the pandemic had on my well-being – an outcome that was impossible to guess at the time of my application.  

That is why I would like to thank Santander for the support they’ve shown at such a critical time both historically and in my career.  

Right now, I’m trying to stay focused on the positive effects of the lockdown: because of the pandemic I lost some work, but I also got some new commissions. For instance, being commissioned by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to create a piece that explores the effects of the pandemic through the sonic medium. This piece will soon become part of an archive consisting of Greater Manchester’s creative response to the pandemic – a commission that I wouldn’t have received under normal circumstances. While not being an ideal scenario, the lockdown has taught me some important lessons about self-discipline. I learned that maintaining motivation during these unusual times is a task in itself and that it’s so easy to lose focus without the proper time management strategies in place. These are valuable lessons that I know I’ll be applying long after the lockdown has ceased.  

I’m currently growing my business and planning for a COVID-free future when my work will hopefully inspire and support emerging female composers on their creative journey.