‘Jonathan Hanley’s evangelist recitatives told an expressive and nuanced story; his control in passage work during the tenor arias was utterly convincing.’

Jonathan Hanley is a British tenor working as a soloist and ensemble singer with a particular interest in Baroque vocal music. Upcoming performances include Bach Christmas Oratorio with the Irish Baroque Orchestra, performances of Bach with Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s newly formed Constellation Choir, and a busy international schedule with vocal ensemble Stile Antico in their 20th anniversary year.

Born in Suffolk, Jonathan was a chorister and choral scholar at St Mary-le-Tower, Ipswich under the direction of Dr Michael Nicholas, before reading History at the University of York, where he was a choral scholar at York Minster. During his time at university, he also performed with a number of ensembles including the Yorkshire Bach Choir and the Ebor Singers. After graduating, he spent three years as a lay clerk at Peterborough Cathedral under the direction of Steven Grahl and has been a member of the 'Genesis Sixteen’ programme for young singers (2016/2017). He is now a freelance singer and a member of the vocal ensemble, Stile Antico. He currently studies with tenor, Richard Edgar-Wilson. Jonathan was also a Monteverdi Choir Apprentice for 2018/2019 and has gone on to work regularly for the group as a soloist and member of the choir.

Jonathan has performed as a soloist in the UK and Europe, appearing with the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, the OAE, Academy of Ancient Music, La Grande Chapelle, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Nevill Holt Opera, Yorkshire Baroque Soloists, and the Instruments of Time and Truth. He has recently performed JS Bach Mass in B Minor (Elbphilharmonie; Alte Oper Frankfurt; Bozar; Luxembourg Philharmonie; Harris Theater, Chicago; Carnegie Hall, New York), St John Passion (arias and evangelist), Weihnachts-Oratorium (Chapelle-Royale, Versailles; La Scala, Milan; St Martin in the Fields), St Matthew Passion (Cadogan Hall), Handel L’Allegro, il penseroso ed il Moderato (Harris Theater, Chicago; Carnegie Hall, New York), Acis and Galatea, Mendelssohn Die Erste Walpurgisnacht (Haus für Mozart, Salzburg), Monteverdi 1610 Vespers, and Britten St Nicolas (York Minster). Jonathan appears on disc as a soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Monteverdi Choir, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner (2024), and in a contemporary opera performance and recording of Margaret Catchpole - Two Worlds Apart by Stephen Dodgson (2022). He also enjoys performing English song and lieder, most recently performing a programme of Raymond Yui, Finzi and Britten and Schumann Liederkreis (Op. 39) interspersed with Britten folksongs both with pianist Gavin Roberts, and Schubert Die Schöne Müllerin, Beethoven An die Ferne Geliebte, and Schumann Liederkreis (op. 24) accompanied by Nicky Losseff.

As an ensemble singer, Jonathan works regularly with some of the finest vocal ensembles in the world, most notably Gramophone-award winners Stile Antico and the Monteverdi Choir, for whom he is regularly a step-out soloist. He is also a member of SANSARA, and appears frequently with groups such as The Tallis Scholars, The Gabrieli Consort, Polyphony, the BBC Singers, and the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists. He has also performed with the Monteverdi Choir in staged productions of Handel Semele and Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini and Les Troyens. He has recorded discs with Stile Antico, the Monteverdi Choir, SANSARA, Polyphony, The Sixteen, the Oxford Consort of Voices, the Ebor Singers, and the choirs of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, York Minster, and Peterborough Cathedral.

For a list of Jonathan’s solo repertoire and a selection of past performances, click here.

Opera Click - ‘Stratospheric vocal soloists, (above all, countertenor and tenor with perfect virtuosity).’

Süddeutsche Zeitung - ‘consistently outstanding soloists emerged from the Monteverdi Choir.’

Peterborough Telegraph - ‘Lovely songs like Der Nussbaum revealed Jonathan’s light and lyrical tenor voice with its glinting high notes… It was delightful to observe the non-verbal communication… to achieve near-perfect ensemble.’

Church Times - ‘… Jonathan Hanley, an exquisite tenor voice…’

The Times - ‘the pleasures of Jonathan Hanley’s tenor urging shepherds to pay Jesus a visit were easily matched by the delights of Rachel Beckett’s solo flute’

bachtrack - ‘The ceremony of the Musikalische Exequien took place with an organic, inspiring, emotionally intense reference to eternity, in which the impressive tenor Jonathan Hanley made a true appearance in the solos .’

York Press - ‘[Jonathan Hanley] has a lovely upper register which suited the [Britten]. His performance in He Journeys To Palestine and Nicolas And The Pickled Boys was very moving.’

York Press - ‘Jonathan Hanley’s evangelist recitatives told an expressive and nuanced story; his control in passage work during the tenor arias was utterly convincing.’