Jonathon Charles Welch was born on 5 October 1958 and is an Australian choral conductor, opera singer and voice teacher.
22 Facts About Jonathon Welch
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In June 2009 on the Queen's Birthday, Jonathon Welch was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia with the citation, "For service to the arts as an operatic performer and vocal coach, and to the community as the founder and musical director of the Choir of Hard Knocks".
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Jonathon Welch's father, Kenneth Welch, was an engineer born in Sydney to English parents Thomas Archibald and Ella Thrale Welch.
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Jonathon Welch completed his secondary education at Melbourne High School and commenced a teaching course at Melbourne State College.
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Jonathon Welch performed in the Victorian State Opera's first production of The Pirates of Penzance.
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Jonathon Welch followed with four years in Brisbane, where he became principal tenor for the Lyric Opera of Queensland while studying at Queensland Conservatorium of Music.
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In 1988 Jonathon Welch joined Opera Australia as a tenor and sang alongside Joan Sutherland at the Sydney Opera House.
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Jonathon Welch formed or has led other choirs including Geelong Pop Choir and Pop Kidz, Australian Pop Choir, and Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus.
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Also that year, Jonathon Welch issued a solo album, With a Song in My Heart on ABC Records.
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From June to August 2008 Jonathon Welch was a judge on TV talent competition, Battle of the Choirs.
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Jonathon Welch developed another choir, Voices from the Inside, for the November 2009 TV series, Jail Birds, with female inmates of HM Prison Tarrengower.
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In November 2009, Jonathon Welch created the inaugural national Social Inclusion Week "to connect people, encourage participation and form communities".
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Jonathon Welch was the music director for the KwaYa Uganda project in September 2012 and April 2013.
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Jonathon Welch finished as artistic director with Choir of Hard Knocks in December 2018, after 13 years in the role.
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In 2020, Jonathon Welch competed in the television singing competition The Voice.
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Boy George picked him for his team in the blind auditions where Jonathon Welch sang "This Is the Moment".
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Jonathon Welch then lost in the battle where he sang "Stand by Me".
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Jonathon Welch is an openly gay performer, and has led both the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir and the Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus.
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In late December 2000 Jonathon Welch met his future domestic partner, Matt, on the Pacific cruise ship Regal Princess, where Jonathon Welch was on a working holiday with Tenor Australis providing on-board entertainment.
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At the beginning of 2024 Jonathon Welch took action for the second time in the Federal Court against "comedy training outfit the Hard Knock Knocks Comedy School and its founder Morry Morgan" alleging that Morgan did not honour an earlier deed of settlement and rebranding undertakings.
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In 1999 Jonathon Welch won the Australasian Choral Championships at the City of Sydney Eisteddfod.
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Also in 2008 Jonathon Welch was awarded an honorary doctorate from Griffith University.