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.