John Woods was born in Stirling, Scotland and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and at The Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

He has since worked at the R.N.C.M., The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and since 1992 at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, preparing many of its operas, including the Australian premiere of Britten’s Billy Budd.

Engagements have taken him throughout Britain, Europe and Australia, accompanying singers and instrumentalists on the concert platform and in radio and television broadcasts. He has worked with some of the finest singers of his generation, including Joan Rodgers, Amanda Roocroft, Simon Keenlyside and, in particular, Jane Eaglen.

He has accompanied master classes given by several distinguished singers, including Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Janet Baker and Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.

As Musical Associate for Granada Television, John Woods has credits on a wide range of arts and drama programs which include The Dame Joan Hammond Masterclasses, Coronation Street, Sherlock Holmes and Lost Empires – the eight-hour serialisation of the J.B. Priestley novel in which he worked with the late Sir Laurence Olivier.

He has a longstanding association with Opera Queensland.