John Foreman is sitting in a very messy home studio. But a closer look reveals a strange sense of order amongst the apparent chaos. In one corner of the room is a pile of manuscript paper from a new musical that John is writing; on his computer screen is an orchestral arrangement he is completing for a concert next week; and on the desk is a rundown for Channel Nine’s Carols By Candlelight® telecast. John is a busy man.

“I’ve always worked better when I have a deadline,” says John, “and I love the variety. But right now I could do with a little holiday. Or at least a nice lie down for half an hour.”  

John Foreman is a musical director, pianist and composer, plus is a well-recognised face on Australian television.

John wrote The Flame, which was performed by Tina Arena and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Opening Ceremony.

His compositions have also been performed by artists such as Vanessa Amorosi and Jose Carreras.

John grew up in Newcastle, NSW, where he attended weekly piano lessons. By the time he got to high school, he had joined his first band.

“I was in Year 7 when a bunch of older kids asked me if I wanted to play keyboards for their ska band. I had no idea what ska music was, but I said yes. We were so scared of our skin-head audiences, we would often lock ourselves in the dressing room between sets. But it was a great way to get started!”

“I did everything I could when I was at school – I played in orchestras, sang in children’s choirs, rock bands, jazz ensembles – and I would encourage any young musician to do the same.”

John completed his schooling at Sydney’s Conservatorium High School, and then graduated from a jazz course at the Conservatorium of Music.

His big break came in 1992 when he met TV legend Bert Newton on a gig at the Twin Towns Services Club. Bert was so impressed, he offered the 19-year-old rookie a job as his musical director on his national network television show. The two would become one of Australia's most unlikely TV partnerships, and their daily banter - including a sometimes-hilarious-sometimes-terrible daily joke from John - helped millions Australians get through their breakfast each day. And during his twelve year tenure on Good Morning Australia, John worked with literally thousands of musical artists, including such great performers as Chris Isaak, Reba McEntire, Joe Williams and James Galway; he also worked live in Melbourne with Shirley Bassey.

Then after years tickling Bert’s ivories on GMA, John joined Australian Idol as musical director in 2003. He left the show in 2008, after having helped launch the careers of Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll, producing a Gold album for idol judge Marcia Hines, and producing a record-breaking multi-Platinum recording of The Prayer, performed by Anthony Callea.

He’s musical director and producer for Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight® and the TV Week Logie Awards, and an occasional contributor to the Nine Network’s 20 to 1. He hosted The Big Night In with John Foreman, and a Ten Network special, John Foreman Presents Burt Bacharach, which featured Bacharach performing live and being interviewed by John.

He’s also a jazz pianist. He has performed at jazz festivals in Montreal, Canada, Santa Barbara, USA and jazz venues in London.

In 2006 John released his first book titled John Foreman – Your Guide to Unlocking the Australian Music Industry. He’s also the ambassador for Music Count Us In, an initiative of the Australian Music Council, to encourage music education in schools, and he hosts the annual Schools Spectacular on ABC television. He’s the composer for the new Australian musical Strange Bedfellows, based on the movie of the same name.