By Natasha Barbieri
Interview thanks to Alun Taylor
Did you always know you could sing, or was it a hidden talent you discovered?
Well, I first started singing as a chorister at my local church, mainly as my two elder brothers did before me. It became clear I had a good boy treble voice, so under the advice of my choirmaster I auditioned for the prestigious Chetham’s School of Music to become a chorister at Manchester Cathedral and thankfully, I was awarded a scholarships and became a pupil of the school where it just developed and I got quite good very quickly which is how it all started.
What was it that attracted you to opera music?
The progression into opera came when my father passed away in 1990 soon after Pavarotti sang ‘Nessun Dorma’ for the Italia 90 FIFA World Cup Finals; it was the only time in my life that I saw my father moved to tears through music, so on a whim I said to my mother than one day I would sing the aria for him and it all went from there. It was the only knowledge of opera I had at that age (14) but I myself too was so moved by the music that it felt the right thing to do. From then on my previous plan to become a professional soccer player appeared to be scuppered!
Out of the many roles, you have played which character was your favorite to sing and bring to life?
The role I enjoyed/enjoy performing the most is Rodolfo; it was the first aria where I was tested with the extremities of the range with the top C at the end of the main aria “Che Gelida Manina” and I am fortunate that those notes come fairly easy to me. The character is one I can relate to and I always enjoyed the interplay with Marcello and Schaunard as well as the romantic relationship with Mimi that covers quite an emotional scope and [is’ not easy to portray convincingly.
You started out playing both violin and piano, what are the advantages you found to being able to play instruments in addition to singing?
For me, having played the violin for many years from an early age then graduating to the piano gave me a solid basis and knowledge of the theory aspect. Going to Chetham’s helped to take those skills to a very advanced level which meant even by the age of ten I could sight read almost perfectly pretty much anything put in front of me and also gave me perfect pitch. It also gave me a better knowledge of expression as my teachers always wanted me to make the instruments sing with regards to the phrasing in pieces I was playing so I feel it has helped me be able to sing musically as well as conveying the emotion of a lyric. For me, the combination of the two is vital to being a great singer. Domingo is a prime example of this in the way he sings.
On your first album ‘Northern Light’ there is a mix of opera and popular tracks, all sung beautifully in your tenor voice. How do you go about choosing your material and striking just the right balance of songs between opera and crossover?
In the more commercial field of making albums, you firstly have to have a balance of songs of which 60% of the material qualifies as out and out classical so the record qualifies for the classical charts. With ‘Northern Light’ I was presented with some fantastic new songs from writers I was working with where I felt that with all I had gone through in my life to date, I could convincingly tell the story as well as come up with arrangements that matched the emotion of the song. I wanted to bring a new wave of songs that the next generation would also want to sing and to show the audience that there is more to music with an operatic slant than just the traditional arias which a lot of people feel is more for the elitist audiences, and I felt that my new songs from the album could speak out to a wide range of people as they could relate to what the stories are about. The rest is trial and error, and as you say finding a balance of moods, keys, and styles that compliment the other tracks.
You have your own radio program entitled “Sacred Thoughts” and in addition have performed ‘The Messiah’ and other sacred work. What does singing and playing sacred music mean to you?
It means a lot to me for many reasons, to be honest; having been brought up on choral music I always love to go back to perform that particular style. I have also always found that for me personally, my best outlet of praise has been through singing as it brings it all to life with music. To perform and tell the story of amazing works such as ‘The Messiah’, ‘The Dream of Gerontius’, ‘The Creation’ and Verdi’s ‘Requiem’ etc. is very fulfilling. For all these reasons is why my show focuses on praise through the music of so many genres.
What has been the greatest highlight of your career so far?
That is a difficult one! It was an honor to be asked to perform for the 9/11 anniversary concert in New York and Cincinnati after the disaster that touched the hearts of so many. I had the opportunity to meet some of the magazine men and women from the emergency services who were on site at ground zero at the time and to talk to them and the people of New York as to how it has affected their lives. Also my mother has always helped me to keep my feet on the ground and has told me that it is so important to give something back, so to be involved in so many charity events and causes, specifically in my role as a goodwill ambassador to the U.N allows me to do that, and I am so proud of the hundreds of thousands of pounds I have raised for the causes close to my heart.
Tell us a little bit about singing at Hyde Park with mezzo-soprano Juliette Pochin (whom we have interviewed previously).
Juliette is a dear friend of mine so it’s always great to sing with her as we have a lot of fun! It’s always a buzz to sing to tens of thousands at an outdoor event, some of which do not normally listen to this type of music, so with our rep that included some traditional music, some new songs and some lovely duets based on well-known film music was amazingly well received. Performances with Juliette are always a major highlight in the diary as she’s so lovely – you know yourself as you’ve interviewed her!
What are some of your goals for the future?
I am one of these people that is never content and always wanting to challenge myself with new things. I am currently working on a series of new radio shows for the BBC and have just been commissioned by them for a weekly live show which covers a wide range of styles of music and allows me to give the listener the musicians perspective. I’m also working more in the production side of the industry with other artists which I also coach that I am passionate about. I’m also writing some new material of my own to unleash soon, and I just want to continually bring my music to a much wider audience around the world. For me it’s not about the X-Factor or reality TV; I plan to be around for a long time to come and believe I’m worth listening to.
Finally, your new album comes out this year. Tell us a little about what we can expect from the record, and when it will become available.
Well, my next album “Artist” is a project that I am so proud of. I’ve had so much support from my record label and management in being able to pursue more avenues and move away from a little from the norm to really test myself as well as to do something a little different. The album contains some covers of well-known popular songs and music from artists that have inspired me throughout my life, as well as having some well-known classical repertoire, so in essence, it is almost a part of my life’s story. Currently, we are looking to release in Spring 2009 but we’ll confirm that very soon after the summer holidays.
Featured in our Summer 2008 Issue.
Jon is now part of ‘Il Destino’ learn more at ildestinoduo.com
