the Schola Cantorum
 

Cathedral Choristers

His choirs consistently receive the highest praise, and have been selected in Australia to be the choir for such occasions as the St Patrick's Cathedral centenary celebrations in Toowoomba, the Annual trade service in St John's Cathedral Brisbane and various State Government receptions. He has collaborated with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, debuting his professional vocal ensemble Vox Australia with them, in the Brisbane Youth Choral Festival.

Queensland Performing arts Complex concert Hall - where John debuted his professional choir Vox AUSTRALIA AND in collaboration with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain

John has conducted in Australia, New Zealand, in the midwest and southern United States. These have included full length concert performances of sacred music in most of the cathedrals in the state of Queensland, the concert hall of the Queensland Performing Arts Complex  Mayne Hall, the University of Queensland, the opera theatre of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University, the theatre of Griffith University, Carseldine, and the Anglican cathedral of Auckland. He has led performances of a number of works for chorus and orchestra, including all the major choruses from Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Magnificat, Rutter’s Magnificat and Requiem, Handel's Ode to St Cecilia's Day and Zadok the Priest, a Buxtehude Magnificat, a Boyce Cantata, and Lully’s Te Deum.

St John's CATHEDRAL, BRISBANE - the site of MOST OF JOHN's PROFESSIONAL CHORAL CONDUCTING WORK IN AUSTRALIA.

Described as a “music missionary” by Father Joshua Janko, Director for Catholic Mission, at Guerin Catholic High School in Noblesville Indiana, John Webber’s career in education spans two continents.

At the University of Queensland, John studied organ with Australia's premier cathedral organist, Robert Boughen, conducting with Fred Hows, singing with former King's Singer Michael Leighton-Jones, Harpsichord with Robert Huestis and compositional techniques with Colin Brumby.  During that time he sang simultanously in both Boughen's St John's Anglican Cathedral Choir as a countertenor and in St Steven's Catholic Cathedral Choir as bass. After graduation from the University of Queensland,  John is appointed a music teacher and choirmaster at Iona College, a grade 5-12 catholic boys school in Brisbane, Australia. In his first year, he organizes the Ionian Chorale, and gives the Australian premier of Louis Vierne’s Messe Solennelle, in St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane. The following year that choir performs all the major Messiah choruses accompanied by a semi-professional standard community orchestra. That same year he is nominated to the Queensland State Education Board of Senior Secondary Studies, district panel for music - a position he holds for 15 years - until he departs for the United States.

The following year, John accepts the position of Director of Music at Hillbrook Anglican School – a position he holds for 13 years. During this time he makes significant strides in the development of the overall non-credit performance music program, involving a 1/3 of the student body in 12 after and before school ensembles, an instrumental and vocal instructional pull-out program, overseeing a music department staff of 11 teachers, the design of a performing arts center, and  touring performing groups internationally - in additional to a high school classroom teaching schedule of theory, harmonic and stylistic analysis, aural skills training, music history and composition.

While at Hillbrook he formed Vox Australia, latter to become “The Company of Voices” a professional adult chamber choir modelled on the Tallis Scholars that achieved critical acclaim through performance and recording. In one review, the premier Austalasian performing arts magazine "Opera Australasia" stated that The Company of Voices performed in "a weekend of choral history ... a connoisseur program, the pick of the 16th century presented in meticulous style".

Vox Australia

On arriving in the United States, John makes several technological innovations in his first assignment in the Georgetown School District in South Carolina. Here he works at the middle and high School levels as a band director and general music teacher.

At the end of this first three-year visa, John moves to Mount de Sales Academy in Macon, Georgia - where he works at both the middle and high school levels as band, chorus and general music instructor.  

After a brief visit to a community rural High School in rural Iowa, John takes up his next assignment in Noblesville Indiana at Guerin Catholic High School, an International Baccalaureate school and one of the best academic achieving schools in the state. Here he reconnects with his Catholic faith and his preference for music teaching at a high level of student achievment. He teaches band, orchestra, piano, theory and harmony, compositional techniques, and IB (like AP) music. He develops VoyceworX, an un-auditioned vocal group made up of mostly IB music students. This group refires his passion for choral music and composition.  Former student and VoyceworX member Maggie says "Your influence over the last three years, has changed my life" - in many ways that encapsulates John's career as a "music missionary". Having reconnected with his Catholic faith and choral music he sought out a second concurrent full time job as Music and Liturgy Director at St Alphonsius Catholic Church in Zionsville Indiana. This double full time work-load eventually forces John to consider where his strongest interests lay - which leads him to make a career changing decision to focus fully on church music.

VOYCEworX

Before coming to San Angelo John then spent time in Ohio as a Catholic Parish Music Director for both a parish church and its associated school.

Recordings of John's choral work - including professional level and high school level performing his compositions - can be found on his youtubechannel and on his website.