Faculty

Mark comes from a background in Event Management and Digital Marketing, having previously worked at the Sydney Opera House and not-for-profit charity organisation Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia. Mark has worked on a wide range of projects, from the complexities and extravagance of big budget productions such as Vivid LIVE, to small scale fundraisers run on a shoestring budget.

These days Mark is Co-Founder, Operations/Business Development at IMPAK Records, a boutique Artist Management and Label Services company tailored for emerging artists.  In these roles he oversees all aspects of the business, with a particular emphasis on growth strategies for developing artists’ careers, social media & digital marketing, as well as business development. 

In addition, Mark works as the Program Leader for the Entertainment & Arts Management Department at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney. As well as supervising the administrative operations of the department, he also enjoys applying his real world experiences into a classroom context, teaching several units of study.

Mark loves his tech, gadgets and guitars - and has a wildly irrational mistrust of anyone who doesn’t like Radiohead.

Daryl McKenzie is Musical Director of the Daryl McKenzie Jazz Orchestra (DMJO) and was Musical Director of the Victoria Police Showband.

He has worked extensively as an educator directing ensembles and lecturing in composition, arranging and orchestration at secondary and tertiary levels. Daryl works as a freelance composer, arranger, trombonist and conductor. He has worked on national television shows including Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Australia’s Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars, and has orchestrated and conducted numerous Australian and international movie scores including The Truman Show, Red Dog, and The Sapphires.

Daryl’s undergraduate studies in music were at the Victorian College of the Arts and North Texas State University. He holds a Master of Education (Music) from RMIT University.

Jason Weir is a multi-instrumentalist (drums/guitar/piano/bass) and vocalist with over 25 years experience as a performing session musician, band member, songwriter, composer and producer. Jason holds a degree in music performance and a Graduate Diploma in music composition. He has performed most styles of music over his diverse career, and has played with various bands and artists with releases on Mushroom, Shock, RCA (UK), Creative Vibes, and Move Records. He is a veteran of over 1500 professional shows, both here and overseas, and has played at many notable venues and festivals including: The London Forum, The Marquee Club, Maleny/Woodford and Port Fairy Folk Festivals, Splendor In the Grass, The Espy, The Basement and many more.
 
After spending much of the 1990s in the U.K and in NSW, Jason returned to Melbourne in the early 2000s and established a successful private music school in St. Kilda, teaching AMEB piano, guitar, drums, bass guitar, ensemble, and mentoring many young and aspiring musicians along the way. He also completed further studies in instrumental performance, improvisation, composition and songwriting. In recent years, Jason has performed regularly in acoustic, jazz and world music combos, and as a soloist, with a main focus being on acoustic fingerstyle guitar and voice in a contemporary context. 

Jason is passionate about the evolution of contemporary music in theory and practice, and in equipping aspiring musicians with the necessary skills for a professional career in music. Jason views music as a great force for positive change not only for the individual, but also for society at large.
 

Andrew Batterham is an Australian composer, arranger, songwriter and performer. He is active across many genres including art music, jazz, corporate music, big bands, TV, and educational music. His music has been performed, recorded and broadcast in Australia, Asia, Europe and the USA, by artists ranging from jazz legend James Morrison to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

After studying composition with Brenton Broadstock, Andrew worked as a trumpet player and pianist in the Melbourne commercial scene for many years. Upon winning the Qantas Youth Award of the Paul Lowin Prize, he travelled to New York to study with Broadway arranger Ian Finkel, and to London for lessons with John McCabe. Other awards include the National Songwriting Contest, Corbould Composition Prize (Queensland Symphony), and commissions from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and many other organisations.

Commercially Andrew’s corporate music has been heard on videos, TV and radio in commercials, short film scores and corporate events. He has also arranged orchestral backing music for albums by various artists. Recent activity includes Concertino for solo tuba and wind band (winner of the Harvey Phillips Award USA), premiered by Sérgio Carolino and the Banda Sinfónica Portuguesa at the São João Festival in Portugal, Composer-in-residence at the Sydney International Brass Festival, performances at the Melbourne Fringe Festival, a playlist for makingwaves.com, and CD releases for Tall Poppies (Australia) and Cala Records (UK).

Andrew’s music is published in Australia, the USA and the UK. He is on the staff at the Australian Institute of Music, Melbourne campus.

Hannah is AIM Sydney's Campus Manager. She is directly responsible for the management of the day to day organisation and operations of the entire AIM Sydney campus. Hannah has always enjoyed working in the arts and creative industries. After completing an Advanced Diploma in Digital Media, Hannah commenced her first role as Agent Assistant at Lisa Mann’s Creative Management, she then continued with NIDA’s Open Program before joining the team at AIM,

Mitch Catterall is a young award-winning composer, performer, and lecturer of music.

Based in Melbourne, Mitch is currently studying his PhD in Interactive Composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, where his studies focus on the interactive nature of physicality and spontaneity within electronic music creation - manifested as the creative output of the artist moniker “Bribery”.

He was awarded the Adolphe Spivakovsky Scholarship for Composition of Music for his piece “Waster” in December 2018, as well being placed 2nd in the International Compfest Award for “Bodies on Everest”. Mitch’s performance and recording history includes touring Australia (including venues such as the Melbourne Recital Centre) and the United States with various experimental, electronic, and electro-acoustic music groups. He has worked collaboratively with domestic and international artists such as ARIA-award winner Mr Trials (of A.B. Originals), Jeswon (of Thundamentals), Shirt (NYC), Basy Gasy (Madagascar), and many more.