Born in Sydney, John first began performing in Secondary School, in Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas. Having decided to follow a career in Music, John completed a Diploma of Music Education course at the N.S.W. Conservatorium of Music. During these years of study John's interest in theatre grew and he continued to perform with the Hurstville Light Opera Company, plus singing solo in many concerts for the "Con" under the baton of Richard Gill.
It was in 1981 when John made his operatic debut as "Nick Shadow" in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress for the Company of The Performing Arts at the University of N.S.W., with Richard Gill conducting. This led to an audition with The Australian Opera where he was accepted into the chorus with small parts and understudies. Two years later John was engaged as a soloist performing regularly until 1986.
In 1982 John won the prestigious "Sun Aria" competition (now known as the MacDonald Aria) and also the Armstrong Martin Competition in 1983. These along with the Joan Sutherland Scholarship enabled John to study in Europe (1984 and 1986) with acclaimed singing teacher Dominique Modesti in Paris.
After a brief return to The Australian Opera in 1985-86, John decided to settle in Vienna where he had been accepted into the "Studio" of the Vienna State Opera. This enabled John to perform not only in the student productions, such as in the opera "Lenz" by Wolfgang Rihm, but to also performances on the main "Staatsoper" stage, his first role being "Yamadori" in Madama Butterfly by Puccini. By 1988 John was engaged as an ensemble soloist and remained with the company until 1991.
John returned to Sydney and to Opera Australia (The Australian Opera) in 1992 and was a regular guest soloist until 2003. His first major role during this period was "Alfio" in Cavalleria Rusticana.
Since 2004 John has performed nationally and internationally with companies such as the NRB New Zealand Opera, New National Theatre Tokyo, The Shakespeare Festival Hobart and The Singapore Lyric Opera.