You can’t fake performance. It’s raw, it’s unpredictable, and when it’s good, it hits you right in the chest. That’s the kind of energy that lives at the Australian Institute of Music. For Chris Fields, drummer, academic, and one of AIM’s longest-standing lecturers, that energy is the reason he’s still here after 15 years.
“Everyone that teaches here is an active performer,” he says. “We’re always trying to look at where the industry might be heading and what skills students are going to need.” At AIM, performance isn’t just taught. It’s lived.
You Don’t Just Play Here, You Build a Life in Music
Walk through any AIM campus and you’ll hear jazz rehearsals blending into rock ensembles, a vocalist warming up in one room, and a student drummer working through a new rhythm in another. AIM’s Bachelor of Music (Performance) is designed for musicians who want to do it all. You’ll learn your craft inside out, but you’ll also learn how to record, collaborate, promote yourself, and adapt to the constant motion of the music world.
As a performer, your instrument is your calling card,” Chris says. “But now you also have to be a marketer, you have to know production, and you have to understand the wider music industry. We cover all of that here.” That means students don’t just learn how to play. They learn how to thrive as artists, creators, and professionals in an ever-evolving field.
The Classroom is a Stage
At AIM, classes happen on real stages, in real studios, and sometimes on the rooftop over coffee. Small group ensembles double as functioning bands. One-on-one lessons turn into jam sessions. “It’s a small campus, so it’s very intimate,” Chris explains. “Even outside of class time, we’re always around. I’ll often be having a coffee and a student will come up with a question. Those moments are some of the most valuable.”
RISSA says “Working with teachers who are pros in their field, that definitely inspired me as an artist to work harder and their encouragement helped me believe in myself” .Students learn by doing, rehearsing, performing, failing, learning, and trying again. And sometimes, those experiments turn into careers. One student ensemble morphed into a full-blown Latin dance band, Eso Eso, now performing around Sydney. “They’d never played that kind of music before,” Chris says. “They just fell in love with it. That’s the magic.”
Made to Be Heard
The best part of AIM’s performance course is that it’s not pretending to prepare you for the industry. You’re already in it. Your lecturers are gigging musicians. Your classmates are future collaborators. Your first audience might be sitting in the rehearsal room next door. “If you’re undeniably great at what you do, everyone notices,” Chris says. “We try to give students as many practical opportunities as possible before they go out into the world where it really matters.”
That world is already full of AIM alumni, from bands playing Sydney’s biggest venues to musicians touring internationally, performing in Hamilton and Rent, and even music-directing New Year’s Eve at the Opera House.
No One-Size-Fits-All Path
AIM doesn’t turn out identical performers. It turns out individuals, singers, drummers, bassists, guitarists, and creators who blend performance with production, songwriting, and business smarts. “Most musicians now do a mix of things,” Chris says. “You might be performing, composing for games, or producing your own tracks. We design the degree so you can move fluidly between all of that.”
That flexibility is what makes AIM grads stand out. They’re adaptable, curious, and unafraid to carve their own path, whether it’s on stage, behind the mixing desk, or halfway across the world on tour.
The Energy That Never Fades
When you talk to Chris about performance, he lights up. He’s played stadiums and small clubs, but what excites him most is the next generation. “If people are fired up about music, you can feel it,” he says. “That energy never changes.” For him, AIM is all about helping students chase that feeling, the adrenaline, the connection, the spark that happens when the lights go up and the first note hits. “If you’re passionate and willing to work hard, there’s a place for you here,” Chris says. “We’re here to help you get there.”
