Jonathon Welch

Jonathon Welch
Jonathon Welch, June 2008
Background information
Born	(1958-10-05) 5 October 1958 (age 58) Ripponlea, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Opera, choral
Occupation(s)	Tenor singer, choral conductor, voice teacher
Instruments	Piano, Voice
Years active	1965–present
Associated acts	The Choir of Hard Knocks, Choir of Hope and Inspiration
Website	jonathonwelch.com

Jonathon Charles Welch AM (born 5 October 1958) is an Australian choral conductor, opera singer and voice teacher. As a singer, Welch has been a tenor for the Victoria State Opera, Lyric Opera of Queensland and Opera Australia. During 2006 Welch established The Choir of Hard Knocks comprising homeless and disadvantaged singers from Melbourne. The choir's formation was the subject of a five-part documentary series of the same name televised during mid-2007 on Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In June 2009 on the Queen's Birthday, 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". On 1 April that year he had released his autobiography, Choir Man.

Welch grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea. His father, Kenneth Welch, was an engineer born in Sydney to English parents Thomas Archibald and Ella Thrale Welch. His mother, Olive Margaret Hando, was the daughter of Charles and Florence Amelia Hando, farmers from Charlton in rural Victoria. Kenneth and Olive married in 1948 and settled in Melbourne, where Olive worked as a legal secretary. Welch's older sister is Andrea (born c. 1951) and his older brother is Glenn (born c. 1953). They have an adopted younger sister, Elizabeth. Welch attended Ripponlea Primary School. His first job, at eight years old, was selling newspapers directly to motorists. Olive and Andrea sang and played the piano at home, while Kenneth enjoyed listening to opera and Gilbert and Sullivan.