Jonathon Welch
After 30 years in the music industry, Jonathon's career as a professional singer, performer and ABC recording artist is as busy as ever.
As well, he continues to be committed to youth and community music education as a vocal teacher, choral conductor, song writer, public speaker, author and passionate advocate for the homeless, disadvantaged and marginalised.
Considered one of the finest tenors of his generation, Jonathon made his professional singing debut with Victorian State Opera in 1981. Touring with the VSO in the Broadway production of The Pirates of Penzance in 1984 with Marina Prior, Jon English, David Atkins, June Bronhill, Todd McKenny and David Hobson, Jonathon then made his major operatic debut with Opera Australia in 1988 alongside Dame Joan Sutherland in The Merry Widow. He has gone onto perform with many of the world's finest singers across many genres, conductors and directors including k.d Lang, Jimmy Somerville, Anne Murray, Slim Dusty, Jimmy Barnes, Kate Cebrano, Richard Bonynge, Baz Luhrmann, Graeme Murphy and Kasey Chambers to name a few.
He is most recently known for his work on ABC TV in June 2007 as the Founding Music Director of the ARIA, Logie and Helpmann award winning Choir of Hard Knocks (now known as the Choir of Hope and Inspiration) and popular Judge on Battle of the Choirs for Channel 7. Jonathon has continued to appear extensively in live performance and on national television most recently on Carols in the Domain, Carols By Candelight, 2008 Australian of the Year Awards, Good Morning Australia, The Today Show, and has featured on Our House, ABC’s Compass, Entertainment Tonight, Australian Story, Kerrie-Ann’s Morning Show, Talking Heads, ABC Arts Program, Spicks and Specks and 60 Minutes.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to Australia's music industry and his unique service supporting and inspiring the homeless and disadvantaged, Jonathon has been awarded Victorian and Australian of the Year - Local Hero 2008, ANZAC of the Year 2008, RMIT Communicator of the Year 2008, an Honorary Doctorate from Griffith University and an Order of Australia in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours.
November 2009 saw Jonathon launch his latest passion projects - Social Inclusion Week and National Street Party Weekend, along with the implementation of Choir programs into the women's prison system in Victoria.
