John Foreman (musician)

John Gregory Foreman OAM[2] (born 24 April 1972) is an Australian musician and television personality. In 1992, he joined the Network Ten team for Good Morning Australia with Bert Newton, serving as Music Director until retiring in 2004. During 2003–2008 he was Musical Director of Australian Idol.[3]

John Foreman (OAM)[1]
Photographed in January 2012
Background information
Birth nameJohn Gregory Foreman
Born (1972-04-24) 24 April 1972
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation(s)Musician, television personality
Years active1992–present

Early life

Foreman was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, and studied at the Conservatorium High School and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.[4]

Career

Compositions and albums

Foreman released No Jivin' in 1993 on the BMG label which received an ARIA Award nomination for Best Jazz Album.

In 2000, Foreman wrote the Olympic Flame song, The Flame, performed by Tina Arena for the 2000 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony.[2]

Foreman wrote Melbourne Girl for the Closing Ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, UK which was performed by Vanessa Amorosi.[5]

In 2004, he produced, orchestrated and conducted Anthony Callea's recording of The Prayer, which received an ARIA Award for the highest selling single by an Australia artist.[5]

He wrote Light The Way for the 2006 Opening Ceremony of the Asian Games in Doha, performed by Jose Carreras and Majida El Roumi.[5]

Foreman produced albums and/or singles for Marcia Hines, Silvie Paladino, Guy Sebastian, Ricki-Lee Coulter, Carl Riseley and Greta Bradman.

In 2013, he produced Anthony Callea's Christmas album This Is Christmas.[6]

In 2017, Foreman produced Callea's ARIA Number 1 Hits in Symphony, which featured the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

He produced the single Proud for Casey Donovan, released in January 2020.

Foreman wrote the background music for Chris Lilley's television shows, Ja'mie: Private School Girl and Jonah from Tonga.[7]

Other television work

In December 2005 Foreman began hosting The Big Night In with John Foreman. The premiere episode featured an interview with actor Russell Crowe, as well as interviews with vocalists Deborah Conway and Tina Cousins.

Foreman became the Musical Director for Melbourne's Christmas Eve Carols by Candlelight, at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, in 2003.[8] He is Musical Director for the TV Week Logie Awards.[9] In 2008 he appeared alongside Ian Dickson, Cosima De Vito and Guy Sebastian to pay tribute to Shannon Noll on This Is Your Life.[10]

In February 2012 he joined the reboot of Young Talent Time as the Musical Director.

Foreman was musical director for Oprah Winfrey's telecast from the steps of the Sydney Opera House, which featured Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Olivia Newton-John, Russell Crowe and Keith Urban performing a one-time-only rendition of I Still Call Australia Home with John and his orchestra.[11]

Foreman hosts the annual Schools Spectacular which airs on the Seven Network (previously on Nine).

In 2019[12] and 2021,[13] Foreman was host of Australia Day Live from the Sydney Opera House on ABC TV.

Live performance

Foreman conducted the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra for their Not New Year's Eve Concert at the Sydney Opera House and their New Year's Eve Concert at Hamer Hall in Melbourne in 2012 until 2017.[14]

In 2019 he took over management of the Australian Pops Orchestra and conducted the orchestra's 2019 New Year's Eve Gala Concert, which featured Harrison Craig, Marina Prior, Silvie Paladino and Denis Walter.[15]

He performed as a jazz artist at the Montréal International Jazz Festival in 1995 and the Santa Barbara International Jazz Festival in 1998 and 1999.[5]

Foreman has been musical director for theatre shows for The Production Company, including The Boy From Oz, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Hello, Dolly! and Anything Goes.[5]

Creative director and television producer

Foreman became Creative Director for Australia Day in Sydney in 2015.[16] An evening concert on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on Australia Day 2015 featured Jessica Mauboy, Guy Sebastian, Sheppard, The Veronicas, Russell Morris and James Morrison.

He was Creative Director for the Opening Ceremony of the 2013 Asia Pacific Special Olympics Opening Ceremony in Newcastle, which featured Human Nature, Marcia Hines, Doug Parkinson, The McClymonts and local Newcastle performers.[17]

Together with manager Richard Macionis, Foreman was Executive Producer of the Network Ten special, John Foreman Presents Burt Bacharach in 2007.[18]

Other roles
  • Ambassador, Music: Count Us In[19]
  • Ambassador, Special Olympics Australia.[20]
  • Board Member, Talent Development Project (TDP).[21]

Discography
Year Title Artist Label Unit Role
1992 No Jivin' John Foreman BMG Album Artist / Composer
2000 The Flame Tina Arena Sony / BMG Single Composer
2003 Climb Every Mountain Guy Sebastian BMG Single (B-side) Producer
2004 The Prayer Anthony Callea BMG Single Producer
2004 Hinesight Marcia Hines BMG Album Producer
2005 Bridge Over Trouble Water Anthony Callea BMG Single (B-side) Producer
2005 Don't Tell Me Anthony Callea BMG Album track Co-writer / Co-producer
2008 The Rise Carl Riseley Universal Album Producer
2010 Forest of Dreams Greta Bradman Sony Album Producer
2012 On My Own Silvie Paladino ABC Music Album Producer
2013 This Is Christmas Anthony Callea ABC Music Album Producer
2017 ARIA Number 1 Hits in Symphony Anthony Callea & MSO Sony Album Producer
2018 Josh Piterman Josh Piterman Fanfare (Sony) Album Producer
2020 Proud Casey Donovan MGM Single Producer

Bibliography
  • Foreman, John (2005). Your Guide to Unlocking the Australian Music Industry : A Definitive Guide to Getting Started and Succeeding in One of Australia's Toughest Industries. South Oakleigh, Vic: Funtastic. ISBN 978-1-74167-016-5.[22]

References
  1. "Queens Birthday honours 2015: full list". 8 June 2015.
  2. ""The Olympic Flame" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  3. Dennehy, Luke (31 May 2009). "Musical director John Foreman's Idol end". Sunday Herald Sun. News Corp. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  4. About John
  5. "About John". John Foreman Official.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "TV Themes". John Foreman Official.
  8. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2011/12/carols-by-candlelight-a-time-for-tradition.html
  9. "John Foreman". Beat Magazine.
  10. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1287270/
  11. "Oprah's Sydney Guests". Daily Telegraph. 13 December 2010.
  12. "Australia Day Live is Yours on ABC". tv.press.abc.net.au. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  13. "Australia Day Live 2021". tv.press.abc.net.au. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  14. Barnett, Lyndon (13 December 2012). "John Foreman talks conducting, Olympics and safaris". Flight Centre.
  15. Desk, BWW News. "John Foreman's Australian Pops Orchestra Presents New Year's Eve 2019 Gala". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  16. "Creative Director". Australia Day In Sydney - Official Website. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015.
  17. "Opening Ceremony for the Special Olympics". Hunter Headline. 28 November 2013.
  18. "John Foreman Presents Burt Bacharach". IMDB.
  19. "Count Us In". Music Australia.
  20. "About Us - Patrons". Special Olympics Australia. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015.
  21. "Graduate Success Stories". Talent Development Project.
  22. "John Foreman : your guide to unlocking the Australian music industry : a definitive guide to getting started and succeeding in one of Australia's toughest industries / [John Foreman]". catalogue. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
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