Jonathan Antoine
| Jonathan Antoine | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 January 1995 (age 22) Essex, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Classical, Operatic |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | Syco, Sony Classical, Cavendish Records |
| Associated acts | Jonathan and Charlotte |
| Website | jonathanantoinemusic |
Jonathan Antoine (born 13 January 1995) is a classically trained English tenor. He rose to fame after appearing on the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2012 as one half of the classical duo Jonathan and Charlotte. He subsequently went solo, and his debut album Tenore was released in the UK on 13 October 2014.
Antoine was born to John, a police inspector, and Tracy, a housewife. Neither was a musician, but they soon understood that their son had a special vocal gift. When he enrolled at West Hatch High School in Chigwell at the age of 11, he began to hone this talent and he met two people who were to influence him greatly: singing coach Jenny Ewington and head of music Ginette Brown. “I started having lessons with Mrs Ewington, and just took to it," he explained. "It was so nurturing. She was inspirational, and she became a fantastic friend”.
At around the age of 13, Antoine's voice broke. As his new sound was settling, Ewington encouraged him to sing challenging numbers including "Bring Him Home" from Les Misérables, a song that brought him much attention at the 2010 Stratford and East London Music Festival where he earned the title "Young Musician of The Year" and to explore core-classical repertoire such as Bach/Gounod’s "Ave Maria" which he performed at The Royal Festival Hall in London, England as part of the Rotary "Youth Makes Music" event in 2011. At 14, he auditioned for a junior place at the four major music conservatories in London and was accepted at all of them. He chose to go to the Royal Academy of Music. At this time he also began to take guitar lessons. Back at school, Brown encouraged Antoine to sing in concerts as she thought it might help with his shyness. "Jonathan came into his own” she said, “All the students would see him and say that he was the boy with the incredible voice. Antoine himself slowly began to understand the power of his gift: "I sang the duet Time To Say Goodbye with my friend Stephanie, and there was absolute silence from the audience. It was wonderful – and then we got a standing ovation. It was then I thought: I can really do this." Brown asked Antoine and his friend Charlotte Jaconelli to sing "The Prayer" at her wedding in 2011.
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