John Foreman is a producer, musician and creative director.
He has been creative director for Australia Day in NSW since 2015, and has headed up production of the Australia Day Live national broadcast from Sydney Opera House since 2016. John was creative director for the Special Olympics 2013 Asia Pacific Games Opening Ceremony. He is on the board of the Talent Development Project Foundation and owns and manages the Australian Philharmonic and Pops Orchestra.
In 1992, John started tickling Bert Newton’s ivories on Good Morning Australia, aged 19. He joined Australian Idol as musical director, in 2003. John has produced recordings for a wide variety of artists, including Guy Sebastian’s Climb Every Mountain and Anthony Callea’s multi-platinum single, The Prayer. He has also produced recordings for Marcia Hines, Greta Bradman, Ricki-Lee, Silvie Paladino and many more.
John is musical director for Channel Nine’s Carols by Candlelight and was music director of the TV Week Logie Awards for twenty years. He hosted Network Ten’s The Big Night In with John Foreman, and a Ten Network special, John Foreman Presents Burt Bacharach. John was musical director for the Oprah Winfrey Show Australian finale, broadcast worldwide from the Sydney Opera House in 2010.
He has also worked with Hugh Jackman, Chris Isaak, Reba McEntire, Joe Williams, James Galway, Shirley Bassey and Olivia Newton John.
John wrote The Flame, performed by Tina Arena and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Olympic Opening Ceremony in 2000. He wrote Vanessa Amorosi’s Melbourne Girl for the Closing Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, 2002, and Light The Way, performed by Jose Carreras at the Asian Games in Doha in 2006.
In 2015, John was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division (OAM) for service to the performing arts. In 2024, he was elevated to Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the performing arts, particularly music, and to the community.