His mission is to spread joy through singing.
And Jonathon Welch started that journey in the Redlands in spectacular fashion with the announcement of his new Redland residency at his first Redland Performing Arts Complex concert on February 23.
Welch said he was delighted to return to what he called his "happy place" and hoped to have a fulfilling relationship with RPAC and with the community.
"I want to be a force for good. I have dreamed of returning to Brisbane for 35 years and coming to the Redlands is a dream come true. Who would have thought I would be able to sing beside a Mayor who yodels? I've hit the jackpot here. The Redlands ticks all the boxes," he said.
During his concert which featured the music of Harry Secombe, Mayor Karen Williams welcomed Welch to the area and was invited to give an impromptu performance with him.
Welch said he 'slipped into the area quietly' in January and performing for the first time at RPAC was simply 'surreal'.
"This is a magnificent centre and I hope to be a regular here, as a performer and a concert goer. I am proud to call myself a Queenslander and want to make a useful contribution to the community I am now a part of," he said.
Welch will be performing Swing into Christmas at RPAC in December.
Welch has an impressive track record of working with the community having worked with massed choirs, the Choir of Hard Knocks and more recently as artistic director of Play It Forward Australia. The Choir of Hard Knocks was featured in a television documentary and Welch was applauded for his work with the homeless and disadvantaged. As a performer with the Lyric Opera, he has also performed with Dame Joan Sutherland, k.d. lang, Baz Lurhmann, Jimmy Barnes and Richard Bonynge. He said he was looking forward to hearing local Redland choirs.
He said he grew up listening to the classical music played by his mother and his recent RPAC show was a tribute to Harry Secombe which he describes as the ;'sound track of his childhood'.
"There is nothing like singing to make you feel good. I want to bring beauty and joy to the world and that might mean we don't take ourselves or life too seriously. We should always find beauty and joy in the world. I feel blessed with what life has given me," he said.
