Choir of Hard Knocks Founder
helps give Brisbane’s most vulnerable a new voice

It’s been nearly 25 years since multi award-winning singer, conductor, composer and social justice advocate Jonathon Welch AM first walked the streets of Sydney and Melbourne, handing out flyers inviting those experiencing homelessness and disadvantage to join his new ‘street choirs’.

Now a local resident of the Redland Coast since 2022, Jonathon is renowned for his commitment to the music industry and community choral programs. Jonathon continues his legacy well past Sydney Street Choir, which he created in 2001 and the legendary Choir of Hard Knocks in 2006, through his national inclusive arts charity, Play It Forward, with the launch of their latest passion project in 2026 - Brisbane Street Choir.

“This is the work that I feel that I was born to do, and why I was given the gift of music and teaching. It’s my ‘happy place!

It saddens me, though, to see that the rates of homelessness are even higher today than when I began this work twenty-five years ago.

I want to continue this work here in Brisbane, where I was given my first opportunity to begin my professional training and singing career in earnest, 40 years ago. It’s time to give back to this beautiful city that has and still brings me so much joy,” said Welch with a big smile.

But it ‘takes a village’ as Welch knows too well, to not only create but also sustain these kinds of programs that bring so much joy and create safe, inclusive spaces that create communities through singing together.

Play It Forward is also extremely honoured to announce their new venue partner and the home of Brisbane Street Choir - St Andrew’s Uniting Church in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD, where they have been running Andy’s Place - a breakfast and lunch program for those experiencing homelessness and disadvantage, for the past decade.

“St Andrew’s has been doing such incredible work helping to support Brisbane’s most vulnerable with their beautiful meal programs, and it is the perfect venue and fit for Brisbane Street Choir to rehearse, where they can also have a nutritious meal before they sing!” said Jonathon.

“St. Andrew’s, with its century-old tradition of musical and social outreach and our weekly food programs at Andy’s Place, we are proud to be the host venue for the new Brisbane Street Choir and this wonderful new venture”, said Dr Nick Tate, Chair of St. Andrew’s Church Council.

Brisbane Street Choir will commence rehearsals in early 2026 with Jonathon Welch AM as the Founding Artistic Director at the helm of a new administrative and artistic team to help facilitate the choir.

“I have witnessed the enormous transformative power of music and choral music for many years as a tool for social equity through programs like Choir of Hard Knocks and Sydney Street Choir, and the subsequent popularity and explosion of choral music in this country, together with the huge amount of research that now substantiates and supports all the benefits of singing and participating in a choir as a result.

My greatest joy is seeing people ‘light up’ when they sing together and just enjoy being in the moment, forgetting the troubles of their past or perhaps the future for a few precious hours. I can’t wait to get started!” said Welch

For all enquiries, contact Matthew Jones at 0439 244 429