Choir Man

Jonathon Welch

Mas 2010 · Kuthengiswe ngu-HarperCollins Australia

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He is the man who brought you the award-winning Choir of Hard Knocks - made up of the homeless and the disadvantaged - the judge on Battle of the Choirs, a highly renowned opera singer and conductor who has worked with some of Australia's most talented performers. But Jonathon Welch's own story is less well known, and here he tells it in his own words for the first time. His modest beginnings in suburban Melbourne where he exhibited early 'theatrical' tendencies, his life at the centre of a family falling apart, his coming to terms with his sexuality and the rifts that caused, the discovery of his singing talent, his stellar career in the heady worlds of opera and theatre and the crisis which caused him to question his life's direction and to walk away from it all. In this warm and candid memoir, Jonathon reflects on the forces which shaped him and made him an advocate for social change - and how music was at the centre of helping him put his own life - and that of many others - back together again.

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Considered one of the finest tenors of his generation, Jonathon's credits include some 70 roles with most State opera companies and Opera Australia. He has performed with some of the world's most highly regarded singers, directors and conductors, including Dame Joan Sutherland, k.d.lang, Baz Luhrman, Graeme Murphy, Richard Bonynge, Anne Murray and Jimmy Somerville. Born and educated in Melbourne, Jonathon began his singing career with Victoria State Opera, joining their first Australian tour of 'Pirates of Penzance' in 1984 with Jon English, June Bronhill and Marina Prior.