Born in Paramaribo, April 8, 1951 as the son of musician Eddy Snijders. At the age of seven he started playing the flute; later he also played guitar, piano, percussion and saxophone. He left for the Netherlands in 1970 to study civil engineering at Delft University of Technology. In addition, Snijders continued to make music and in 1973 won the press prize at the NOS Jazz Competition in Laren. From 1986 to 1991 he studied musicology at the University of Amsterdam, where he graduated with a thesis on Surinamese kaseko music. He received a royal decoration in 2001 and became a knight in the order of Oranje Nassau. That same year he was also knighted in the Honorary Order of the Yellow Star, an award bestowed by the president of Suriname. Composer and flautist Ronald Snijders played with his bands on numerous stages in the Netherlands and abroad. For example, he has performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague and Rotterdam. He also gives lectures and leads workshops on various world music styles. He also composed music in completely different styles, including Brazilian music, experimental music, film music and Western classical music. In 2022 the Boy Edgar Prize was awarded to him.