Meet our SWMS Mentor Team
Mark Whitlam
Mentor – Drums and Jazz Specialist
Mark enjoys a variety of freelance roles across many genres. He has performed with UK jazz luminaries including ECM artists Andy Sheppard and Iain Ballamy, Jason Rebello (Sting, Jeff Beck) , Pee Wee Ellis (James Brown), Clare Teal (BBC Big Band) and Jim Mullen (Average White Band). He has been fortunate to study with two of the world’s finest drummers, UK ace Ralph Salmins and US jazz hero Jeff Hamilton and holds a Master’s degree in music composition. Mark has gained extensive experience of theatre work, including the world premiere of Starter for Ten at Bristol Old Vic (2024). His playing and compositions have featured on the HBO/BBC television miniseries Industry (2020) and BBC Radio 2, 3 and 6 and Jazz FM, with live broadcasts for Jazz on 3 and European tours.
A Teaching Fellow in Music at Bath Spa University, and Senior Lecturer at BIMM University and Mark is a dedicated educator. He is simultaneously keen to feed his own musical and academic hunger as a PhD researcher in composition at the University of Bristol, focusing on the creative roles novel interactive technologies around the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) agents can play in the liminal space between composition and improvised performance. Mark is delighted to support the next generation of musicians in their development as a tutor and mentor for SWMS.
