Thomas Johnson

Winner of the Richard Bonynge Accompanists Award at the 2018 Sydney International Song Prize, Thomas Victor Johnson is a vocal coach and pianist based in Sydney. He currently serves as répétiteur with Opera Australia and as a vocal coach at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Thomas was a member of the music staff at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden from 2018 to 2023, serving additionally as the stellvertretender Chordirektor in 2021 and 2022. Since 2023, he has served as the principal répétiteur and vocal coach for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s four-year Ring Cycle under Simone Young AM. In 2025, he was guest répétiteur for Die Walküre with Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

Prior to Berlin, he was solo répétiteur with Opera Australia, following a two-year appointment as Head of Music at West Australian Opera, where he managed the music and language staff, directed the Young Artist Program, prepared the chorus, coached principal artists, and developed community engagement initiatives. His operatic career began in 2012 as Assistant Chorus Master and Children’s Chorus Master at Opera Australia.

Over his career, Thomas has collaborated with conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Antonio Pappano, Simone Young AM, Daniel Harding, Philippe Auguin, Pietari Inkinen, Thomas Guggeis, Speranza Scappucci, Massimo Zanetti, Renato Palumbo, Carlo Montanaro, Guillaume Tourniaire, Patrick Lange, Andrea Battistoni, Antony Walker, Kristiina Poska, Pietro Rizzo, Benjamin Northey and Christian Badea.

In recital, he has performed with singers including Nicole Car, Étienne Dupuis, Anna Kissjudit, Noa Beinart, Margaret Plummer and Bruno de Sá. His collaborations extend to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia, Australian Youth Orchestra, Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir, Sydney Children’s Choir, The Choir of Christ Church St Laurence, Bel A Cappella, Sydney Chamber Choir, and cabaret artist Meow Meow.

Thomas is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he studied piano performance and accompaniment with Natalia Sheludjakova and participated in masterclasses with Stephen Hough, Mikhail Voskresensky, Gerard Willems, Ruth Nye, Andrew Ball, Marco Rapetti, Cristina Ortiz and Iain Burnside.