Program Leader
Jesse Hooper leads the Music team, taking Songwriting Master Class, Ensemble, and Collaborative Performance.
Jesse is four-time ARIA-award-winning songwriter and performer. Best known for founding the music groups Killing Heidi and The Verses, he is a multi-skilled writer, producer, performer and mentor.
As a hit songwriter, Jesse has achieved critical and commercial success internationally. In 2001 he won the prestigious Australasian Performing Rights Association Song Writer of the Year award and has written eight top 20 hit singles including #1 singles and albums.
As a guitarist, he has performed in major music festivals in Australia and abroad including main stage Big Day Out, Falls Festival, and Livid to name a few. Jesse has toured with some of the biggest acts in the world including Fleetwood Mac, Counting Crows, INXS and Midnight Oil.
In the studio, Jesse has collaborated and worked with iconic producers including Mark Opitz (INXS, AC/CD, The Divinyls), Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, The Pretenders) and John Travis (Kid Rock, Social Distortion, Buck Cherry).
Throughout his career Jesse has worked closely with the biggest and most powerful record companies, managers, and booking agents in the entertainment industry and maintains unique relationships with stakeholders across the mainstream and independent music sectors. Jesse has run successful touring and recording companies and is able to help artists holistically approach their branding and creative side with astute business acumen.
He also is working on a series of multicultural collaborations featuring refugee hip hop act FLYBZ, Paul Kelly, Waleed Aly, Pataphysics and indigenous artists Dan Sultan and Kutcha Edwards. This work is partnering with key community arts organizations The Artful Dodgers Studios and Multicultural Arts Victoria.
Jesse is passionate about helping share his world-class connections, knowledge and skills with emerging artists through his teaching and course design at Collarts.
Email: jhooper@collarts.edu.au