THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRA | 2017-2018 7
Conductor Michael Francis has quickly established
himself internationally. Known for maintaining a
diverse repertoire while paying particular homage
to the composers of his native Britain, Francis
enjoys great reception throughout North America,
Europe and Asia.
This season, Francis debuts with Berlin Radio
Symphony, Philharmonia, and the Minnesota
and Pacific symphony orchestras. He returns to
Komische Oper Berlin, Seoul Philharmonic, and the
Milwaukee and Indianapolis symphony orchestras.
Furthermore, he will conduct the international ARD
competition with Bavarian Radio Symphony.
Other guest and return appearances in North
America have included The Cleveland Orchestra
and the orchestras of New York, Cincinnati,
Houston, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Toronto
and Ottawa. His European engagements have
included Dresden Philharmonic, MDR Leipzig,
Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pflaz,
Helsinki Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de
RTVE Madrid and Mariinsky Orchestra. In the
United Kingdom, he has worked with the London
Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic,
BBC National Orchestra of Wales and BBC Scottish
Symphony. In Asia, Francis has conducted the
NHK Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra
of Taiwan as well as the Hong Kong and Japan
philharmonics, and he has returned to the Malaysia
and Seoul philharmonics.
Working with young musicians has always been a
priority for Francis. Aside from a six-city Canadian
tour with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada,
he has made frequent visits to Miami’s New World
Symphony and recently returned to the National
Youth Orchestra of Scotland.
After several years as a tenured double-bass player
in the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), he came
to prominence as a conductor in January 2007,
replacing an indisposed Valery Gergiev for concerts
with the LSO during the BBC’s Gubaidulina festival
at the Barbican Centre. Just one month later,
Francis was asked, this time with only two hours’
notice, to replace the composer/conductor John
Adams in a performance of his own works with the
LSO at the Philharmonie Luxembourg. Soon after in
January 2009, he replaced André Previn leading a
German tour of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony with
Anne-Sophie Mutter.
Soloists that he works with include Lang Lang,
Arcadi Volodos, Itzhak Perlman, Christian Tetzlaff,
Vadim Gluzman, Nicola Benedetti, Javier Perianes,
Jamie Barton, Truls Mørk, Håkan Hardenberger,
Daniel Müller-Schott, Miloš, Benjamin Grosvenor,
Emanuel Ax, Ian Bostridge, James Ehnes, and Rufus
Wainwright.
Francis’ discography includes the Rachmaninoff
piano concertos with Valentina Lisitsa and the
London Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Rihm’s
Lichtes Spiel with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the New
York Philharmonic, and the Ravel and Gershwin
piano concertos with Ian Parker.
Now in his third season as music director of The
Florida Orchestra, Michael Francis’ contract has
already been extended to 2021. He is also music
director of the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego,
where he has launched an ambitious multi-year
exploration of Mozart’s life. He was recently chief
conductor and artistic advisor of the Norrköping
Symphony Orchestra from 2012 to 2016.
MICHAEL FRANCIS
Music Director
of Taiwan as well as the Hong Kong and Japan