Dimensions
153 x 234 x 21mm
In Canada‚ pondering his future after a successful career in the opera‚ singer and choirmaster Jonathon Welch chanced upon an article in Reader's Digest‚ about a homeless men's choir which had been set up in Montreal. The idea of an Australian equivalent took hold and became something of an obsession. Then‚ in 2006‚ he held the first ever rehearsal of the Choir of Hard Knocks‚ a group made up entirely of homeless and disadvantaged people. Over 20 people turned up to that first rehearsal‚ with numbers rising within a few weeks. The choir would busk to raise money to make a CD‚ then used profits from that to put on a concert at Melbourne Town Hall‚ in front of more than 1600 people. They would shared a stage with choir patron Jimmy Barnes‚ and become part of the steering group that makes decisions about the progress of the choir. And then came the ABC documentary...
In his memoir‚ Jonathon tells the story of how he came to put the choir together‚ against incredible odds. He also reflects on his life‚ growing up in tough circumstances‚ becoming an opera singer‚ touring with some of the world's biggest stars‚ and then negotiating a crisis which helped change his life and that of countless other people. His story is poignant‚ intensely moving and fully human.
