For Berklee’s online school, Jerry has authored Arranging: Rhythm Section and Horns, Arranging: Advanced Horns and Writing for Woodwinds and Strings for Berkleemusic.com. Additionally, Jerry teaches writing techniques such as contemporary composition, orchestration and arranging privately through his website, www.jerrygatesmusic.com. He is is one of four directors of the large ensemble recording orchestra at Berklee College of Music and at the rank of Professor teaches Contemporary Arranging techniques, Directed Studies in Arranging, Contemporary Twelve-Tone Composition, Orchestration, and Writing and Production in the Recording Studio.

Over a period of many years in the industry, Jerry has acquired skills that allow him to work in a number of different capacities. He finds that this variety of skills allows him to be valuable to a client. This also keeps his job challenging as he never knows what role he will work in next. Working globally, Jerry’s most recently completed projects include symphonic treatments and arranging original music for the Polish/German jazz quartet Poetic Jazz. He has produced, orchestrated and conducted string sessions for noted Egyptian producer/Arab Idol judge Hassan El Shafei. Jerry has also produced, composed and arranged music for Nestlé’s “Wonk Your Room” online promotion and Wonka.com’s “Loss For Lyrics” online Web promotion. Finally, Jerry composed the score for a documentary retrospective of Florida’s poet laureate, the late Edmund Skellings titled, “Ed Skellings – In His Own Words.”

His television and radio credits include Bank of America, Log Cabin maple syrup, Scope mouthwash, Marlboro cigarettes, and music preparation for “The Dennis Miller Show,” jazz great Bill Holman, and film composers Jack Smalley and Richard Band.

Mark is also a professional music arranger whose work can be heard on television and major live and theatrical productions such as “The Voice”, “Young Talent Time”, the NSW Schools Spectacular concerts, and “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert”. Between 2003 and 2009, Mark was the resident bassist and one of the music arrangers for the hit television series “Australian Idol”.

Mark’s academic studies were completed through the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where he received a Master of Music in Composition (Jazz) degree under the supervision of Bill Motzing in 2011 and an Associate Diploma in Jazz Studies in 1997. He is currently a PhD candidate majoring in Composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music under the supervision of Prof. Matthew Hindson and Ross Edwards. Mark has also completed several courses in arranging, jazz composition, jazz improvisation, counterpoint, orchestration and digital music production through Berkleemusic. Mark spent many years at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM) where he lectured classes in bass, music theory, arranging, songwriting and digital music technology. Between 2011 and 2014, Mark was the full-time lecturer and course coordinator for the Contemporary Department, and then Head of the Academic Studies department at AIM. Mark’s other educational achievements include weekly lectures in contemporary music arranging at the University of Western Sydney (UWS) between 2010-2011, and an arranging seminar at Macquarie University in 2007.