Jon Christos (born John Christodoulou 23 March 1976,

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, England) is an English singer, local radio presenter. and a member of the Professorial Staff - Vocal Studies at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. A classically trained

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

, he is best known for albums of operatically-styled

crossover music Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audiences. This can be seen, for example, when a song appears on two or more of the record charts, which track differing musical styles or genres. I ...

Biography

Early years and education

Born John Christodoulou in

, Greater Manchester to a British mother and a Greek Cypriot father. He started playing the violin at the age of 4, quickly changing to the piano. He studied at the renowned Chethams School of Music in Manchester and then the Royal Northern College of Music. Whilst at the RNCM Christos took lead tenor roles, such as Tamino in

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's '' The Magic Flute'' and Count Almaviva in the college's production of Rossini's ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'' performed at the

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

music festival in Southern France. Around this time he sang Ernesto in Clonter Opera's production of Donizetti's Don Pasquale. In 1996 he made his Manchester Bridgewater Hall debut in Berlioz's '' L'Enfance du Christ'' under Kent Nagano. He has also performed many times in major

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

s, such as Handel's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'', as well as works such as Verdi's '' Requiem'' at venues including the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

and the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

"Chasing the dream"

Deciding on a change in direction, Christos career change when manager and producer Perry Hughes took control and signed him first to Sony then to his own label roots music group. Perry had managed the career and was responsible of the success of Russell Watson when signing Christos to Roots Music Group this led to the release of Christos' debut album '' Northern Light'', followed by a Granada TV documentary, in their ''Chasing The Dream'' series. This included footage of Christos' trip to the US on 6 September 2005, to perform with Erich Kunzel and his Cincinnati Pops Orchestra at a special " 9/11" commemorative concert.'' Northern Light'' reached number 6 in the classical albums charts.

2006–present

In July 2006 Christos accompanied conductor and composer Carl Davis in a ''Sports Symphony'' themed concert in

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He again performed with Davis, in October 2006 with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and in May 2007 with the Halle Orchestra at

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Bridgewater Hall. Christos also accompanied Davis in June 2007 at

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

theme concerts with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the next month at Leeds Castle in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. In the summer of that year Christos headlined the Northern Proms in Durham., the autumn saw him perform at the

''Football Reaching out for Africa'' charity concert organised by Patti Boulaye, and in the winter he sang at the Professional Footballers' Association Centenary Match at the City of Manchester Stadium and the following gala Centenary dinner at Manchester's G-Mex centre with Natasha Marsh. He also performed with Alfie Boe and Garðar Thór Cortes as the new Three Tenors at the launch of the new Cunard Line ship the at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the presence of

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. During 2008 Christos's notable performances included, '' Friday Night is Music Night'' from the Chichester Festival Theatre, ''Music For Champions'', with Carl Davis, Birmingham Symphony Hall. and the televised '' Professional Footballers' Association'' awards

Grosvenor House Hotel ] JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, formerly the Grosvenor House Hotel, is a luxury hotel that opened in 1929 in the Mayfair area of London, England. Across from Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, the hotel is built on the former site of the 19th ...

. In the summer Christos returned to Hyde Park, Hyde, Greater Manchester, Hyde,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

for a third consecutive time supporting the Manchester Camerata. In the autumn he sang with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under the direction of Anthony Inglis, the Welsh Guards Band and Natasha Marsh before over 2,000 people in Liverpool Cathedral to commemorate the final visit of '' Queen Elizabeth 2'' to the port. Dignitaries attending included the

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, Simon Weston, Beryl Bainbridge and John Prescott. 2009 began with a sad occasion for Christos, singing at the memorial service of Sara Roache, wife of his friend ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' actor William Roache. ''Duetto'', a new collaboration between Christos and soprano Jenny Williams was launched and was featured on a live BBC Radio Lancashire broadcast (3 July). The summer saw Christos headline The Quex

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

Proms at Birchington near

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

, accompanied by the ''National Symphony Orchestra''. In September he sang at the live televised

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Proms in the Par

from Buile Hill Park,

, an event which also featured the BBC Philharmonic and singer/songwriter Chris de Burgh. The following month saw him star with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool to celebrate the birthday of the flagship Cunard liner . The year ended with Christos starring in a Raymond Gubbay Christmas spectacular concert at The O2 arena (London) introduced by Mylene Klass and accompanied by the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

, the Royal Choral Society, Alison Jiear and Stephanie Corley (soprano's). The new decade began as the previous year with Christos singing this time at the memorial service of Maggie Jones, who played Blanche Hunt in the long running British TV series

. Much of the year was devoted to charity raising events throughout the UK (see Charity Work section), but during the summer Christos returned to

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

to perform in the popular

Tameside Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, named after the River Tame, Greater Manchester, River Tame, which flows through it, and includes the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Greater Manchester, Denton, D ...

''Splendid Weekend'' classical concert. Autumn appearances included a return to Buile Hill Park to present and perform at the BBC Proms in the Park televised live concert featuring John Barrowman and Juliette Pochin and the Inspiration for Women Awards at

Cadogan Hall Cadogan Hall is a 950-seat capacity concert hall in Sloane Terrace in Chelsea, London, Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. The resident music ensemble at Cadogan Hall is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ( ...

, London. 2011 appearances included a performance at the Inspiration for Women Awards at Royce Hall,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, Los Angeles US hosted by Alison Sweeney. During 2012 Christos duetted with Jenny Williams at the Inspiration for Women Awards

, London,

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English singer, songwriter, actress and radio personality. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke ...

, Matt Cardle and Blake also appeared at the event. In February 2013 Christos joined with other artists to create a new show 'Broadway and Beyond' with the intention of taking it to the corporate stage as well as smaller theatres around the country., during the summer the show was performed at

Jodrell Bank Jodrell Bank Observatory ( ) in Cheshire, England hosts a number of radio telescopes as part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The observatory was established in 1945 by Bernard Lovell, a radio astron ...

supporting the Halle Orchestra. During 2014 Christos was booked to perform on

P&O Cruises P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival Corporation & plc#Carnival UK, Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the freight transp ...

by Garston Entertainment Ltd. He also headlined the Spirit of Salford Weekend with Ren Harvieu. The beginning of 2015 saw Christos entertain on the

Oriana in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and for Warner Leisure Hotels. On July 4, 2015 Christos performed at the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Liverpool Cathedral to celebrate the Cunard Line 175th anniversary of the first ship to set out on a pioneering voyage to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Amongst the guest list was Thelma Barlow and Roy Barraclough, best known for their performances in

, broadcasters Jennie Bond, one time royal correspondent for the BBC, Michael Buerk, Lord Prescott, who, before his political career, worked as a steward on a number of Cunard vessels, and Lord David Steel. in October 2015 a Star Ball at the Hilton hotel Deansgate with guests including Jorgie Porter Nicole Barber-Lane Tricia Penrose and Ray Quinn saw Christos appear as a surprise singing waiter. He also formed the duo to be known as Il Destino (Classical Crossover Duo) with musical theatre performer Adam Lacey. In January 2016 Christos embarked on the cruise ship to sing with

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Danielle Louise Thomas, following this while continuing to develop the duo Il Destino (Classical Crossover Duo) he performed regularly on cruise ships, for Warner Leisure Hotels. and in

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

. In 2019 Christos made his debut as a Music Director at the Blackpool Grand Theatre in a production of Alice in Wonderland

TV and Radio

In 2005 Christos performed on an ITV Christmas Eve service from Norwich Cathedral with Rick Astley and Hayley Westenra. During 2006, he performed on BBC 1's '' Songs of Praise'' show, appeared on ITV in an Easter Service, the ITV lunchtime chat show Today with Des and Mel, and on a special ITV ''Act of Worship Peace Service'' again from Norwich Cathedral. He also performed on BBC Radio 2's long-running '' Friday Night is Music Night'' show, and was a judge on the BBC Radio 2's ''Young Chorister of the Year'' competition Since 2007 he has been a guest TV presenter for Channel M in Manchester and began his own radio show, ''Sacred Thoughts'', on Premier Christian Radio. In 2008 Christos began presenting a weekly popular music show every Sunday afternoon called'' "Why We Love"'' for BBC Radio Lancashire, in which he dissects songs of a variety of genres to explore, from a musical point of view, their success and popularity. Due to BBC Local Radio cuts the Christos show will end after 2012. 2009 and 2010 saw him perform at BBC Proms concerts which were broadcast live on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

via the Red Button During 2011 Christos appeared fleetingly with Jenny Williams on Britain's Got Talent, their performance being farcically interrupted when a dog strayed on to the stage.

Sporting events

Christos has performed at a number of high-profile sporting events, including appearances at the Powergen Rugby Cup Final, the 2009 England vs

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

6 Nations Championship

Rugby Union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

game at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

along with Jonathan Ansell, the Heineken Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and was credited as the first man to sing at the new

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. In 2008 he sang at the opening ceremony of the FINA World Swimming Championships at the Manchester Evening News Arena, and also at a tribute to some of Great Britain's Olympic and Paralympic medalists, including three times cycling gold medalist Chris Hoy. Other sporting venues he has performed at are Old Trafford the home of Manchester United F.C., the City of Manchester Stadium, the Reebok Stadium

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

, Edgeley Park home of Stockport County and

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England that is the home ground of Preston North End. Built in 1875 and in use since 1878, Deepdale is recognised as being one of the oldest continuously used football stadium ...

home of Preston North End, Boundary Park home of Oldham Athletic and The Willows former home of his local

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

team Salford City Reds.

Charity Work

Charities Christos has supported include The

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, The Kirsty Howard's Appeal, The Prince's Trust, Help The Aged,

Variety, the Children's Charity Variety, the Children's Charity is a charitable organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927. History On October 10, 1927, a group of eleven men involved in show business set up a social club which they named the "Variety Club". On ...

, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, the Five Stars Scanner Appeal for Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and in 2009 joined forces with the prestigious Harold Riley, a protégé of LS Lowry, to create a limited edition CD of the Ewan MacColl track Dirty Old Town, to be sold in aid of Christie Hospital. During 2010 Christos campaigned for the charity

Leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

and Lymphoma Research by singing at numerous department stores, shopping centres, theme parks and train stations nationwide. Christos continued his countrywide charity tour during 2011 and 2012 to include Macmillan Cancer Support Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Help for Heroes, during 2011 he also performed at a charity concert in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

hosted by Sir Cliff Richard. Since 2009 Christos and singing partner Jenny Williams have been touring the UK for the 'Sing for Life' Campaign. They have been serenading the public at major shopping centres raising money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. To-date this year (2012) alone stands at over £100,000.

Testimonials

Testimonials from several people including renowned conductor/composer Carl Davis and actor

Robert Powell Robert Thomas Powell ( ; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in '' Mahler'' (1974) and '' Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) ...

can be found on the following link;

Coeliac disease

Christos first began to experience stomach problems in October 2006, with the pain severe enough to cause problems with his singing. On the way to a concert in

in November he had a complete blackout. The results of blood tests in March 2007 confirmed he was suffering from Coeliac disease, an autoimmune disease that can only be treated by the strict removal of

gluten Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain Cereal, cereal grains. The term ''gluten'' usually refers to the elastic network of a wheat grain's proteins, gliadin and glutenin primarily, that forms readily with the addition of water ...

from the diet.

Other

Christos is a distant cousin of singer

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

. He has been vocal coach to cricketer Andrew Flintoff. Although an avid Manchester City F.C. fan, Christos sang at

Manchester Cathedral Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the c ...

for the wedding of Manchester United F.C. star Gary Neville

Discography

Singles: * " Dirty Old Town" limited edition CD (2009) Albums: * '' Northern Light'' (2005) *''The Opera Album 2006'' (2006) features " Caruso" *''A Treasury of Hymns'' (2006) features "

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

" *''Manchester City: The Album'' (2005) features " Blue Moon" and "City Till I Die" – a variation of Funiculì, Funiculà *''The Number One Classical Album 2006'' (2005) features "Jubilate Domum" *''A Classic Christmas'' (2006) features "Jubilate Domum" *''Songs for Sunday'' (2007) features "

" *''The Number One Classical Album 2008'' (2007) features "Non ti scordar di me" *''Poetry Serenade'' (2008) *''The Classical Album 2009'' (2008) features " Mamma (song)" *''Classic Voices 2010'' (2009) features " Una furtiva lagrima"

References

External links

Video of Christos singing "Shadow"Video from BBC1s Songs of PraiseVideo of Christos singing "Jubilate Domum"Video of Christos singing "All or Nothing"Il Destino
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christos, Jon English tenors Opera crossover singers Living people Musicians from Salford English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) English radio presenters English people of Greek Cypriot descent 1976 births Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music People educated at Chetham's School of Music 21st-century English singers 21st-century British conductors (music) 21st-century British male singers