Jonathan Welch AM - Gladstone Choral Workshops

Gladstone Performing Arts Company Presents Jonathon Welch AM, Gladstone Choral Workshops.

Three separate sessions to cater for all.

No prior experience necessary, just a love for connection and community through singing!

Jonathon Welch AM

Jonathon Welch AM is one of Australia’s most unique and celebrated artists today!
A multi disciplinary and multi award winning singer, choral conductor, teacher, songwriter,
recording artist, producer, corporate speaker and facilitator with a career spanning over
45 years, Jonathon made his major role debut with Dame Joan Sutherland at the
Sydney Opera House in the ‘Merry Widow’ 1988 and has over sixty stage roles to his
credit since he began singing professionally in ‘Iolanthe’ with Suzanne Steele’ in 1980 with
the Victorian State Opera.

Jonathon has performed extensively in opera, musicals and in concert alongside many of
the world’s greatest singers, directors and conductors on the world’s greatest stages
across 5 continents including kd Lang, Baz Luhrmann, Richard Bonynge, John Farnham,
Jimmy Barnes, Jon English, June Bronhill, Frederica von Stade and Judith Durham to
name but a few.

In 2007, Jonathon’s ground breaking work creating choirs for the homeless and
disadvantaged in Australia was the subject of the internationally acclaimed ARIA, Logie
and Helpmann award winning TV documentary ‘Choir of Hard Knocks’. Jonathon also
created the ‘Jailbirds’ documentary for the ABC in the Victorian Women’s Prisons, was a
judge on the highly successful ‘Battle of the Choirs’ TV series for Channel 7,
and has appeared extensively on television in ‘Spicks & Specks’, Q&A, daytime television
with Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Bert Newton, ‘Carols in the Domain’, ‘Carols By
Candlelight', ’60 Minutes’, ’Talking Heads’ (ABC) and ‘Australian Story’ (ABC) in 2019.
Jonathon’s most recent television appearances were in 2020 on The Voice with
Boy George and he has also directed and self produced two documentaries -
‘Beyond Hard Knocks’ and ‘Choir Man in Africa’.

In 2009 Jonathon created and launched ‘Social Inclusion Week’ making Australia the only
country in the world to celebrate Social Inclusion nationally, and in September 2012
launched his vision for the future of arts, cultural and wellbeing programs and training for
those experiencing homelessness and disadvantage with the ‘School of Hard Knocks’. In
2018, 'Play It Forward' was launched to create and deliver innovative arts programs that
build positive physical and mental wellbeing for all Australians.

Jonathon has been recognised for his outstanding forty-five year commitment to the music
industry, music education and his work with marginalised and homeless communities with
the Victorian and Australian of the Year Local Hero 2008, ANZAC of the Year 2009 awards,
an Honorary Doctorate of Queensland Conservatorium, an Order of Australia in the
Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2009, RMIT Communicator and a MO award in 2007 for
community services and was made an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Council of
Educational Leaders.