YOUNG MUSIC PRODUCTION - SONGWRITING SKILLS 1 | The Australian Institute of Music

Adrian Bolland

Academic Lecturer

Adrian Bolland is one of Australia’s most experienced and celebrated audio experts. As a producer, engineer and mixer, he’s been credited with a long list of hit singles and albums for artists such as The Divinyls, Slim Dusty, The Little River Band, Leo Sayer, Vince Jones, Gangajang, The Rockmelons, Celibate Rifles,  Severed Heads, Margaret Urlich and many others. In 1993 he won the ARIA Award for Engineer of the Year.

Alice Bennett

Academic Lecturer

Alice Bennett is a Melbourne-based flautist with a keen interest in contemporary Australian music and exploratory improvisation. After completing a Bachelor of Music with Honours at Monash University, Alice travelled to Austria for the impuls 8th International Ensemble and Composers Academy for Contemporary Music.

Aaron Robuck

Senior Instructor

Aaron is an actor, writer, director, musical director, choreographer, producer and AIM graduate. Aaron’s credits as a choreographer include Into the Woods directed by Tyran Parke, Lucky Stiff directed by Barry Quin and most recently, Reefer Madness directed by Paul Geddes.

Julian Gough

Head of Pathways and Engagement

Julian has been active for 30 years, both nationally and internationally in the creative arts and has extensive experience in tertiary and secondary education, in Jazz and commercial performance, composition, musical direction and management.

Jeremy Sawkins

Academic Lecturer

Sydney-based guitarist Jeremy Sawkins has been an active member of the Australian music community since the late 1970’s. As well as being a composer/bandleader, Jeremy has shared the stage and recording studios with Jackie Orszacsky, Tina Harrod, Tom Burlinson, Grace Knight, Darren Percival, Katie Noonan, Kate Miller-Heidke, Wendy Matthews, Lloyd Swanton, Bernie McGann, James Morrison, Monica Trapaga and many more.

Jason Weir

Academic Lecturer/ESOL and Foundation Lecturer

Jason Weir is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist with over 25 years experience as a session musician, band member, songwriter, composer and producer. A veteran of over 1500 professional shows, he has played The London Forum, The Marquee Club, Maleny/Woodford and Port Fairy Folk Festivals, Splendor In the Grass, The Espy, The Basement and many more.

Anastasia Fai

Academic Lecturer

Anastasia Fai is a leading Australian entrepreneur and company director. A graduate of AIM herself, she also has an MBA from Melbourne Business School.

Andrew Batterham

Academic Lecturer

Andrew Batterham is an Australian composer, arranger, songwriter and performer. 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.

Andrew Smith

Academic Lecturer

Andrew Smith is a Sydney-based saxophonist at the forefront of classical saxophone in Australia. Andrew was awarded both a B.Mus (Hons) and M.Mus from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Anton Koch

Academic Lecturer

Anton Koch is a composer, arranger and orchestrator with extensive experience in live events, film, TV and recording projects. His credits include ABC TV opera The Divorce, Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley (orchestra conductor), Carols in the Domain, and The Best of Broadway (Sydney Symphony, 2010).

Brad Miller

Senior Instructor

Brad Miller began playing the piano at the age of five and completed his musical training in orchestration, arranging and modern harmony through Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music.

Dr. Brieley Cutting

Academic Lecturer

Dr. Brieley Cutting is an Australian pianist whose playing has been critically praised for its “myriad of colours” and technical expertise. Throughout her career, she has combined her performing with her work as a piano teacher, academic lecturer, accompanist, artistic director, and artistic researcher.

Bronte O’Neill

Academic Lecturer

Bronte Maree O’Neill is a performer, songwriter, producer and composer. With over 10 years of experience as a professional musician and artist, she has shared the stage with artists like Aston Merrygold, Paloma Faith, Guy Sebastian, Nico & Vinz and Hayley Warner. She has appeared as a session musician on TV programs such as X Factor, Sunrise and The Morning Show.

Candice Boyd

Academic Lecturer

Candice Boyd has been teaching singing and violin since age 18, specialising in contemporary singing and violin, as well as classical violin. In 2010, she began teaching the choirs and small vocal groups at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. In 2013, she began teaching private vocal lessons and vocal ensemble groups at the Australian Institute of Music.

Dr. Carlos Lopez

Academic Lecturer

Dr. Carlos Lopez Charles is a composer, sound designer, and programmer specialising in the creation of interactive visual music. He holds a PhD and a Masters degree from the Paris 8 University (France), and a Bachelor degree from the Escuela Superior de Musica (Mexico).

Carol Starkey

Academic Lecturer

Carol Starkey’s singing career began when she joined the 1984 Australian and South East Asian tour of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Marcia Hines.  This led to a near-constant stream of major theatrical, cabaret and fringe theatre shows.

Chloe Chung

Academic Lecturer

Chloe Chung is an innovative cross-cultural flautist, playing Western classical flute and dizi (Chinese bamboo flute). Her passion for creativity, sustainability and health education are central to her work as an active performer, teacher, and emerging creative director.

Chris Fields

Academic Lecturer

Sydney based drummer/percussionist Chris Fields hails originally from the USA where he grew up in the busy music scene of Atlanta, Georgia. Chris performed extensively in the USA, Mexico and Caribbean before moving to Australia in 2001.

Danielle Maas

Academic Lecturer

Danielle is a performer and educator with a passion for collaborative creation. Her qualifications include a Masters of Advanced Theatre Practice from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, a Bachelor of Performance from the Australian Academy of Dramatic Art, and a Diploma of Theatre Performance from Sydney Theatre School.

Daniel Wallace-Crabbe

Academic Lecturer

Daniel Wallace-Crabbe has worked as a lecturer at AIM since 2008. He is also a casual lecturer/ tutor at Sydney University. Daniel is a composer/arranger and performer, who works across many different styles of music: from Cuban jazz, Argentine tango to contemporary classical.

Daryl McKenzie

Academic Lecturer

Daryl McKenzie is a composer, arranger, trombonist and conductor. 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.

Dr. David Fenton

Associate Head of Learning and Teaching

Dr. David Fenton is a highly credentialled and experienced theatre director, creative industries executive and academic. He’s the Associate Head of Learning and Teaching for all Post Graduate programs at AIM.

David McLeod

Academic Lecturer

David McLeod’s rich and varied artistic career spans over 30 years as a singer/songwriter, band leader, session and backup singer and actor. As a recording artist he has released three albums and one EP covering jazz, blues, original songs and cast recordings.

Dr. Gemma Turner

Academic Lecturer

Dr. Gemma Turner is a singer, songwriter and voice educator who has had a broad singing career focussing on a cappella and world music vocal styles. She is best known for her work as founding member and writer/arranger for the 90s all-women a cappella group Blindman’s Holiday, which was described as “the best a cappella group in Australia and one of the best in the world” (SMH). The band released three CDs and toured the world with to critical acclaim.

Dr. Georgia Luikens

Academic Lecturer

Dr Georgia Luikens earned undergraduate degrees from the University of New South Wales (Sydney) in Music followed by a Masters and PhD in Musicology from Brandeis University in the USA, where she also taught.

Glen Phimister

Academic Lecturer

Glen Phimister is a highly experienced audio engineer who has worked with some of the greatest artists in Australian and international music. He started his career in the early 70s at London’s legendary Trident Studios, assisting a steady stream of major acts such as Queen, Elton John, David Bowie, and Harry Neilson.

Greg Coffin

Associate Head of Learning and Teaching

Greg is well respected as an outstanding educator at tertiary level. He is passionate about supporting students through their musical journey, specialising in first year student studies and teaching piano and commencing theory courses.

Jo Elms

Academic Lecturer

Jo Elms is a singer, songwriter, musician and actress. Born and raised in New Zealand, Jo’s first single, Closest Thing to Heaven was released through Warner Music New Zealand and went to number 5 on the NZ pop charts.

Johanna Allen

Academic Lecturer

Johanna Allen is one of Australia’s most acclaimed singers / actors. She has worked within musical theatre, theatre, opera, film, television, and cabaret. She works as a director, writer and curator/artistic director across theatre, festivals and television.

Jonathan Dower

Academic Lecturer

Jonathan Dower is a composer, musician and producer with extensive experience in the film, music, art, theatre and advertising industries. Jonathan’s primetime TV credits include Packed to the Rafters, Bondi Rescue, Cybershack, Embedded and About Men.

Ken Francis

Academic Lecturer

Ken Francis has been a musician since his teens. Ken has played guitar in rock, jazz, pop & R&B bands and toured with acts including Air Supply, Sharon O’Neill, Matt Finish, Rick Price and Tommy Emmanuel.

Margaret Spillane

Employability and Placement Partner

Margaret has more than twenty years of experience working in tertiary and performing arts education. She has taught at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), The Actors College of Theatre & Television (ACTT), Bond University and – for the past ten years – AIM. 

Dr. Mark Oliveiro

Academic Lecturer

Dr Mark Oliveiro is a graduate and distinguished alumnus of the Sydney Conservatorium, the College of Music, the University of North Texas and the School of Music of Indiana University. As well as working as an academic lecturer at AIM, Mark is a composer with diverse extra-musical interests including history, mythology and ancient literature.

Matt Amy

Academic Lecturer

Matt Amy is a composer, arranger, trombonist and musical director based in Melbourne. His screen credits include Dancing with the Stars, Australia’s Got Talent and Australian Idol and movies such as Death Defying Acts and Corporate Animals.

Matt Bruce

Academic Lecturer

Matt Bruce is a violinist and concertmaster who has worked professionally in the Australian music industry for over 30 years. Matt has been a member of the world-renowned Australian Brandenburg Orchestra since 1992, which he has led as Resident Concertmaster and Associate Concertmaster) since 2013.

Matto Lucas

Academic Lecturer

Matto Lucas is an Australian artist, photographer, creator, curator and art facilitator working within mixed and digital media, with a preference for photography and performance. In 2013 Lucas was awarded a Lifetime Membership to Midsumma for his continuous work and commitment as a visual artist within the LGBTQI community.

Meghann O’Neill

Academic Lecturer

Meghann O’Neill teaches videogame music courses at The Australian Institute of Music and Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Meghann composes music for games, the most recent being emergent stealth game, Wildfire.  

Michael Bartolomei

Academic Lecturer

Michael has worked across multiple genres and settings, from rock and jazz to classical. He has composed for theatre (the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It) and film (Dive Deep, Resistance). His work has been featured extensively in radio and TV commercials including TVCs for Qantas and Nescafe.

Nic Cecire

Academic Lecturer

Nic Cecire is an in-demand drummer and educator based in Sydney. He has a resume of stage, recording and screen credits to match any professional musician working in Australia today. Nic’s work in pop and rock includes playing with headlining artists such as Wendy Mathews, The Whitlams, Jenny Morris, Boy George/Culture Club, Glenn Shorrock, Grace Knight.

Nicholas Gentile

Academic Lecturer

Nicholas Gentile is a performer and composer. A proud graduate of the prestigious Talent Development Project, he has performed and studied around the world.

Dr. Paul Geddes

Academic Lecturer

Dr. Paul Geddes is a critically acclaimed theatre practitioner, teacher and scholar. As an educator and performer he has worked for Sydney Children’s Choir, Gondwana National Choirs, Macquarie University and NIDA. He has an A.Mus.A in Piano and a PhD in English Literature with a thesis on the work of Stephen Sondheim.

Penny Martin

Academic Lecturer

Penny Martin is an Australian choreographer, performance coach and performer. She has worked extensively in theatre, film, television and live events in both Australia and internationally for over 35 years – collaborating with everyone from Barry Humphries to Freddie Mercury.

Peta Downes

Open Programs and Industry Engagement Manager

Peta Downes is a theatre director, producer and tertiary arts educator with over twenty-five years’ of experience. Prior to her appointment at AIM, Peta was the Course Manager – National Short Courses for NIDA’s Open Program (2010-11).

Dr. Phillip Johnston

Academic Lecturer

Dr. Phillip Johnston is known internationally as a jazz saxophonist and composer. He has taught at New York University, the University of the South, the Sydney Institute, and guest lectured at Bard College, the University of Ohio, AFTRS and UNSW.

Robert Sedky

Academic Lecturer

Robert John Sedky is a Melbourne-based musician and composer. While his first passion is composition, he has worked extensively as a session player, producer and solo recording artist.

Samantha Walton

Academic Lecturer

Sam Walton is a singer and musician with a passion for live performance. She began her music career in London, where she was mentored by one of the UK’s most highly regarded vocal coaches, Joshua Alamu (Little Mix, Fleur East, Joss Stone, The Voice UK, Pop Idol) and performed at numerous venues across the UK and Europe. 

Sam Mudie

Associate Head of Teaching and Learning

Sam was a founding member of the nine-piece band Hipnosis performing, coordinating and arranging a wide cross section of music from in venues, corporate functions and weddings in a full-time capacity.

Sam Rollings

Academic Lecturer

Sam Rollings is a guitarist and educator who has performed and recorded with a diverse range of local and international artists including James Morrison, Kate Ceberano, and Dan Barnett.

Scott Saunders

Academic Lecturer

Scott Saunders has had a remarkable musical career as a composer, performer, musical director, producer and educator.

Vincent Giles

Academic Lecturer

Vincent Giles is an experimental composer; a tinkerer with acoustic and electronic sound in the context of concert music, electronic music, installation, and performance.

Wendy Dixon

Academic Lecturer

Wendy Dixon is a New Zealand-born pianist, cellist and singer.

Wendy began her professional career at the age of 18 as Eve in Haydn’s The Creation. Over the next 11 years in New Zealand, Wendy performed an average of three operas a year, numerous oratorios and concert engagements and national tours as a vocal recitalist.

Wen Zhu

Academic Lecturer

Australian violinist Wen Zhu was born in China and began learning violin at age five. She was awarded a full scholarship to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing before moving to Australia, where she has studied at AIM, Tasmanian Conservatory of Music and the Sydney Conservatorium.

Josh Kyle

Associate Head of Learning and Teaching

Josh Kyle is a highly respected faculty member at AIM’s Melbourne campus. His varied approach to music-making has seen him involved with many different musical experiences and settings. He has released four albums under his own name.

Hugh Fraser

Academic Lecturer

As a bass player (electric and double bass), Hugh has performed with a who’s who of Australian and international performers including Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, Rhonda Burchmore, Grace Knight, James Morrison, Geraldine Turner and many more.

Dr. Gary Holgate

Head of Learning and Teaching

Dr. Gary Holgate is a highly qualified music academic and a seasoned musician. As an upright and electric bass player, Gary has performed and recorded with many acclaimed jazz artists including Kevin Hunt, Grace Knight, Bill Risby, Joy Yates and Dave MacRae as well as his own band Jazz Nouveau.

Gary Fredericks

Academic Lecturer

Gary Fredericks is a seasoned Australian musician with decades of experience as a live performer, songwriter and recording artist. He has worked with a long list of Australian superstars, including Johnny O’Keefe and Air Supply. In the 80s, his band Full Marks was signed to CBS Records (now Sony Music).

Dr. Wojciech Wisniewski

Academic Lecturer

Dr Wojciech Wisniewski is a pianist, pedagogue and author currently residing in Sydney, Australia. Born in Poland, Wojciech graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw (Poland) shortly before arriving in Australia in 2004.

David Rogerson

Academic Lecturer

In a career spanning 30 years, David Rogerson has experienced every facet of the radio and media communications industry. He has seen action as a Group Program Director, a National Marketing Manager and Company Director. He was most recently the Group Director for Programming and Content at Grant Broadcasters.

April Albert

Academic Lecturer

April Albert is an international performer, theatre maker and academic. As an artist, she specialises in creating politically engaged performance in a range of contexts and settings. Her solo performance work explores how the historical and cultural resonates in our current social and political experiences.

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