Mr Mark Ferguson
Lecturer
Elder Conservatorium of Music and School of Performing Arts
College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities
Mark Simeon Ferguson is a composer, orchestrator, arranger, song-writer, pianist and musical director with jazz as his foundation. He has special interests in contemporary orchestral writing, Afro-Caribbean music, song-writing for upper primary school children and contemporary jazz piano trio music.Mark was born in Whyalla and raised in the lower north of South Australia.He was a finalist in the National Jazz Awards in 1999 and in the same year he completed a Master of Music at the University of Adelaide. In 2018 he was co-curator of the International Jazz Day celebrations for the Adelaide Festival Centre.His commissions for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra include; the orchestration of Pudnanthi Padninthi (their Kaurna welcome) (2021); the show ASO Does Latin with the Marmalade Man (2018); and children's shows 'Herman and Rosie' (2016) and 'The Bush Concert' (2014) [which has also been performed by the SSO in the Opera House, the MYO in the Recital Centre and the ASO in Harbin, China] and 'Around the World '(2025).In 2021 he was commissioned, through the ABC Jazz Composer Commissioning Fund to write and record 'Where Emus Roam the Streets' which was released in August 2022. In 2020 he released his sixth album, 'Songs From an Imperfect World' on the Wizardtone Label.In 2024 Ferguson was commissioned by the Australian String Quartet to compose ‘String Quartet No. 1: The precarious existence of the Plucky Hooded Plover (The Hoodies)’ with generous support from Peter and Margaret Janssens in celebration of their 60th wedding anniversary. In 2020 he arranged two songs for their Ukaria livestream broadcasts.He composed the theme song for Science Theatre company That Science Gang's production 'The Alphabet of Awesome Science' which has been performed over 400 times across Australia, in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in theatres across Canada and in Monterey, Mexico. He composed and recorded the music for their 2022 production 'You Are A Doughnut' which has toured across Australia and has had over 150 performnaces. He composed the music for their show 'Splish Splash Science' which debuted at the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta 2025. He created the song cycles 'The Moral of the Story' (2013) and 'Next Stop North Terrace' (2018) for the SA Public Primary Schools Music Festival. As a pianist Mark has performed with Rufus Wainwright, Mark Murphy, Jazzmeia Horn, Tina Arena, Paul Capsis, Lady Rizo, Vika and Linda Bull and Ray Vega. He has been Musical Director for shows for Tina Arena, Johanna Allen, Camille O’Sullivan (including her Helpmann Award-winning Changeling tour), UNSUNG (the Frank Ford Commission for Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2018) the Adelaide Cabaret Festival’s 2022 and 2023 Variety Gala, 2021 Opening Gala, 2017 and 2018 Closing Gala, the AFC’s 2018 Walk of Fame Gala and QPAC’s 2019 Songs of Hope and Healing.Mark’s latin-jazz ensemble Marmalade Circus has recorded five albums and performed at the Manly and Thredbo Jazz Festivals and the Sydney Festival.His first major tours were with children’s entertainer Peter Combe in 1993. Mark then toured Australia and Singapore in his own ensemble Marmalade Jam for Musica Viva in Schools from 2002-2013.Currently Mark is Head of Jazz in the Elder Conservatorium. He lectured in Jazz History for 15 years, Jazz Improvisation for 20 years, and currently lectures in Jazz Musicianship (commencing 2016), Jazz Piano (commencing 1992), Latin Jazz Ensemble (commencing 2009) and Jazz Arranging (commencing 2020). He led the inaugural Jazz Study tour to New York City and Washington DC in February 2020.
Mark Simeon Ferguson is a composer, orchestrator, arranger, song-writer, pianist and musical director with jazz as his foundation. He has special interests in contemporary orchestral writing, Afro-Caribbean music, song-writing for upper primary school children and contemporary jazz piano trio music.
Mark was a finalist in the National Jazz Awards in 1999 and in the same year he completed a Master of Music at the University of Adelaide. In 2018 he was co-curator of the International Jazz Day celebrations for the Adelaide Festival Centre. In 2022 he received the APRA AMCOS Luminary Award for South Australia for sustained contribution to Education, Composition and Jazz Performance.
His commissions for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra include the orchestration of Pudnanthi Padninthi (their Kaurna welcome) (2021) LITJATITJATILU MAAU KUTJPA for Electric Fields (2024), four works to feature Cuban trumpeter Lazaro Numa (2024) and the shows ASO Does Latin with the Marmalade Man (2018), Herman and Rosie (2016) and The Bush Concert (2014) [which has also been performed by the SSO in the Opera House, the MYO in the Recital Centre and the ASO in Harbin, China].
In 2024 Ferguson was commissioned by the Australian String Quartet to compose ‘String Quartet No. 1: The precarious existence of the Plucky Hooded Plover (The Hoodies)’ with generous support from Peter and Margaret Janssens in celebration of their 60th wedding anniversary. In 2020 he arranged two songs for their Ukaria livestream broadcasts.
In 2021 he was commissioned, through the ABC Jazz Composer Commissioning Fund to write and record his new project Where Emus Roam the Streets. The album was released in 2022 with a concerts in Elder Hall and the Beltana Progress Hall—Beltana is the 'ghost town' at the centre of the project. In 2020 he released his sixth album, Songs From an Imperfect World on the Wizardtone Label.
He composed the theme song for Six Foot Something's production The Alphabet of Awesome Science touring Australia 2022 and composed the music for their 2022 production You Are A Doughnut. He created the song cycles The Moral of the Story (2013) and Next Stop North Terrace (2018) for the SA Public Primary Schools Music Festival.
As a pianist Mark has performed with Rufus Wainwright, Mark Murphy, Jazzmeia Horn, Tina Arena, Paul Capsis, Lady Rizo, Vika and Linda Bull and Ray Vega. He has been Musical Director for shows for Johanna Allen (including her Adelaide Cabaret Festival shows Pop Culture Vulture (2024) and Cake (2018)), Camille O’Sullivan (including her Helpmann Award-winning Changeling tour), UNSUNG (the Frank Ford Commission for Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2018) the Adelaide Cabaret Festival’s 2022 and 2023 Variety Gala, 2021 Opening Gala, 2017 and 2018 Closing Gala, the AFC’s 2018 Walk of Fame Gala and QPAC’s 2019 Songs of Hope and Healing. In 2022 he was Musical Director/arranger/pianist/backing vocalist for two new major shows in Adelaide Cabaret Festival: Tina Arena's Songs My Mother Taught Me at Her Majesty's Theatre (also featuring Lior, Wendy Matthews, Sophie Koh, Thando and Jess Hitchcock), and Lou Blackwell's show Love on the Left Bank, in the Dunstan Playhouse.
Mark’s latin-jazz ensemble Marmalade Circus has recorded five albums and performed at the Manly and Thredbo Jazz Festivals and the Sydney Festival.
His first major tours were with children’s entertainer Peter Combe in 1993. Mark then toured Australia and Singapore in his own ensemble Marmalade Jam for Musica Viva in Schools from 2002-2013.
Currently Mark is Head of Jazz in the Elder Conservatorium. He lectured in Jazz History for 15 years, Jazz Improvisation for 20 years, and currently lectures in Jazz Musicianship (commencing 2016), Jazz Piano (commencing 1992), Latin Jazz Ensemble (commencing 2009) and Jazz Arranging (commencing 2020). He led the inaugural Jazz Study tour to New York City and Washington DC in February 2020.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 - ongoing | Head of Jazz | University of Adelaide |
| 2016 - ongoing | Lecturer in Jazz Piano | University of Adelaide |
| 2010 - ongoing | Director of JazzSA Superband 1-term 4 | JAZZSA |
| 2003 - 2017 | Tutor in Jazz Improvisation | Marryatville High School |
| 2001 - 2015 | Casual Lecturer in Jazz History | University of Adelaide |
| 1993 - 2015 | Casual Lecturer in Jazz Improvisation | University of Adelaide |
| 1992 - 2015 | Casual Lecturer in Jazz Piano | University of Adelaide |
| Date | Type | Title | Institution Name | Country | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Award | UNESCO Adelaide City of Music Collaboration Award | University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| 2022 | Award | APRA AMCOS Luminary Award | APRA AMCOS | Australia | - |
| 2019 | Award | Student-led Teaching Award, Arts Lecturer | University of Adelaide | Australia | $2000 |
| 1999 | Achievement | Semi-finalist National Jazz Awards 1999 | Wangaratta Jazz Festival | Australia | - |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | University of Adelaide | Aus | Master of Music |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Ferguson, M., & Ray, D. (2024). Floods of Fire-Live and Die With the Butterflies Part 2 (No. Of Pieces: 15mins, 30 pages) [performance work for jazz sextet and scientist]. University of Adelaide: University of Adelaide. |
| 2023 | Ferguson, M. (2023). Dunstan's Vision (No. Of Pieces: 13 pages, 3minutes10seconds) [Concert]. Adelaide Festival Theatre. |
| 2022 | Blackwell, L., Phillips, S., & Fitzgerald, C. (2022). Love on the Left Bank (No. Of Pieces: Theatrical work, 75:00 including 19 songs) [Theatrical piece]. Adelaide Festival Theatre: Adelaide Cabaret Festival. |
| 2022 | Allen, J. (2022). Songs My Mother Taught Me (No. Of Pieces: Concert, 90mins. 21 songs) [Theatre/Cabaret]. Adelaide Cabaret Festival: Adelaide Cabaret Festival. |
| 2022 | Ferguson, M. (2022). Good Morning Heartache: Songs from Female Writers (No. Of Pieces: Eleven arrangements 55:00.) [Concert work for piano, acoustic bass and drums]. The Lab, 63 Light Square, Adelaide. |
| 2021 | Buckskin, J., Goldsmith, J., & Ferguson, M. (2021). Pudnanthi Padninthi (No. Of Pieces: 6x A3 pages, 2mins 40 seconds) [Concert work for symphony orchestra]. Adelaide Festival Theatre. |
| 2021 | Ferguson, M., & Lampard, D. (2021). Alphabet of Awesome Science (No. Of Pieces: 4mins, 10x A4 pages) [Rock/Music theatre song]. Adelaide Fringe Festival, Gluttony. |
| 2019 | Ferguson, M. (2019). Unsung (No. Of Pieces: 70mins) [Musical Director of performance]. Adelaide: Adelaide Cabaret Festival. |
| 2019 | Ferguson, M. (2019). Unsung (No. Of Pieces: 70mins) [Musical Director of performance]. Adelaide: Adelaide Cabaret Festival. |
| 2015 | Ferguson, M. S. (2015). The Bush Concert (No. Of Pieces: 30 mins duration) [Performance]. Adelaide. |
| 2015 | Ferguson, M. (2015). Serendipity (No. Of Pieces: Duration 8') [Performance]. Adelaide. |
| 2013 | Ferguson, M. (2013). Whit Dae Ye Cry Thon Yin (No. Of Pieces: Duration 71 minutes) [Performance]. Adelaide. |
| 2013 | Dry, A., & Ferguson, M. (2013). Mother Wife and the Complicated Wife (No. Of Pieces: 2 hours) [Performance]. Adelaide. |
| 2013 | Dry, A., & Ferguson, M. (2013). Mother Wife and the Complicated Wife (No. Of Pieces: 2 hours) [Performance]. Adelaide. |
| 2002 | Ferguson, M. (2002). Performance by Marmalade Circus at the Sydney Festival 2002 (No. Of Pieces: 40 mins) [Performance]. Sydney. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Authors: Ferguson M. Title: 3:23 am. Description: Selected recordings from other countries:. Extent: Original score 27 pages, Leadsheet 2 pages, original recording 5:29. |
| 2025 | Authors: Ferguson M. Title: Around the World. Extent: 32:40 min, score 76 pages, script 10 pages, powerpoint 62 slides. |
| 2024 | Authors: Allen J, Ferguson M. Title: Pop Culture Vulture. Description: https://glamadelaide.com.au/interview-johanna-allen-bringing-a-brand-new-show-to-the-cabaret-festival/. Extent: 60 x A4 pages, 60 mins. |
| 2024 | Authors: Ferguson M. Title: String Quartet No. 1: The precarious existence of the Plucky Hooded Plover (The Hoodies). Description: https://asq.com.au/liveconcerts/australian-string-quartet-in-tanunda/. Extent: 53 xA4 pages, 23mins. |
| 2022 | Authors: Lampard D, Ferguson M. Title: You are a Doughnut. Extent: The music is 18:20mins from a 60min show. 118 A4 pages. |
| 2020 | Authors: Ferguson MS. Title: For The Lost. Extent: 5 pages - 4 minutes. |
| 2018 | Authors: Ferguson MS. Title: Next Stop: North Terrace—Commissioned work for the South Australian Public Primary School's Festival of Music 2018.. Extent: 64 pages A3 for full score, 26 A4 pages in published Vocal only edition. |
| 2017 | Authors: Ferguson M. Title: Herman and Rosie. Extent: Duration 33', Score 192 pages. |
| 2017 | Authors: Ferguson MS. Title: Live and Die with the Butterflies. Description: Suite in four movements for Studio Orchestra. Extent: Score 57 A3 pages, approximately 18 mins in length. |
| 2017 | Authors: Ferguson MS. Title: The Bush Concert Orchestral Version. Extent: Score 138 pages, Duration approx. 31'. |
| 2015 | Authors: Ferguson M. Title: The Bush Concert. Extent: 31 minutes duration. |
| 2013 | Authors: Ferguson M. Title: The Moral of the Story. Extent: 30 pages in the Festival of Music songbook 2013, A4 sized, duration approx. 16 mins. |
| 2007 | Authors: Ferguson M. Title: Gospel Messiah. Description: Composition for Vocal Soloists, SSATB Chorus, multi-instrumentalist and Symphony Orchestra. Commissioned and performed by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Benjamin Northey. Soloists: James Morrison (trumpet/multi-instrumentalist), Doug Parkinson (baritone), Paulini (mezzo-soprano), Trace Canini (contralto). Extent : 95 minutes.. Extent: 95 minutes. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Authors: Ferguson M. Title: Where Emus Roam the Streets. Extent: Ten songs 47:45,. |
| 2020 | Authors: Ferguson MS. Title: Songs from an Imperfect World. Extent: 8 musical compositions, 40 mins.. |
| 2009 | Authors: Ferguson M. Title: Marmalade Circus CD, Yup and Other Words of Affirmation, 2009.. Extent: 48 Mins. |
| 1999 | Authors: Ferguson M. Title: Mark Ferguson's Marmalade Trio. Extent: 43 mins. |
| Course Title | Institution | Course Level/ Code |
|---|---|---|
| Jazz History | The University of Adelaide | MUSJAZZ 1010 |
| Jazz Performance 1A / 1B | The University of Adelaide | MUSJAZZ 1001 / 1002 |
| Jazz Performance 2A / 2B | The University of Adelaide | MUSJAZZ 2001 / 2002 |
| Jazz Performance 3A / 3B | The University of Adelaide | MUSJAZZ 3001 / 3002 |
| Jazz Musicianship 1A / 1B | The University of Adelaide | MUSJAZZ 1101 / 1102 |
| Jazz Musicianship 2A / 2B | The University of Adelaide | MUSJAZZ 2101 / 2102 |
| Jazz Musicianship 3 | The University of Adelaide | MUSJAZZ 3101 |
| Jazz Arranging | The University of Adelaide | MUSGEN 3007 |
| Music Professional Development 1A / 1B | The University of Adelaide | MUSGEN 1201 / 1202 |
| Music Professional Development 2A / 2B | The University of Adelaide | MUSGEN 2201 / 2202 |
| Music Professional Development 3A / 3B | The University of Adelaide | MUSGEN 3201 / 3202 |
