18th September 2015
The Tampa Bay Rays invited Michael Francis to throw the ceremonial first pitch as the new Music Director of The Florida Orchestra for their game against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday, September 17th 2015.
Photograph by Michael Pastreich
Andrew Meacham, Tampa Bay Times, 16th September 2015
The Florida Orchestra is entering a new season with four new musicians, hand-picked from across the country.
Filling the positions is one of music director Michael Francis’s first major moves in shaping the orchestra. Francis is only the fourth person to hold the position in nearly 50 years…
Jim Chute, U-T San Diego, 21st June 2015
The Mainly Mozart Festival’s “Mozart & the Mind” series was always a little puzzling, no matter how innovative and informative the presentations. The series, scheduled over the course of several weekends, seemingly had little to do with Mozart and nothing to do with the chamber music concerts […]
Garrett Harris, San Diego Reader, 12th June 2015
There is a unique event coming up on Sunday, June 14th, at 3 p.m. — a free concert at Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama.
What is the event? I’ll let Maestro Michael Francis tell us about it as we continue our interview.
San Diego Reader: How do we create […]
Press Release, The Florida Orchestra, 2nd March 2015
With music inspired by fairy tales, a princess and a hero, The Florida Orchestra will perform “Play Me a Story,” a free concert exclusively for young patients and their families at All Children’s Hospital at 2:30 p.m. Friday, March 13. Musicians also will play in the hallways, […]
Stephanie Hayes, Tampa Bay Times, 8th February 2015
For his first season leading the Florida Orchestra, the silken thread running through the selections is not what you might expect from British conductor Michael Francis:
America.
“One of the visions is looking at America as a cultural icon, both in terms of the compositions produced by Americans and […]
Kurt Loft, Tampa Tribune, 8th February 2015
The state’s largest performing arts organization is too busy mapping out a progressive future to worry about prognostications on the demise of classical music.
Yes, Beethoven and the boys are long dead, but they represent only part of a rich and relevant repertoire embraced by a thriving arts industry, […]
James Chute, U-T San Diego, 2nd January 2015
It’s a time of change for San Diego’s classical music organizations. Whether embracing new priorities, new leadership or new opportunities, the city’s key musical institutions are in transition. Here are five to watch in 2015:
Mainly Mozart
Mainly Mozart’s new music director, Michael Francis, officially begins his tenure in […]
Stephanie Hayes, Tampa Bay Times, 11th December 2014
When the musicians of the Florida Orchestra take their seats to play today, it won’t be in a concert hall full of subscribers.
Rather, in a simple yet meaningful concert, the orchestra will visit Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa to play a free show for patients, employees and […]
Stephanie Hayes, Tampa Bay Times, 11th December 2014
A special package has arrived just in time for the holidays.
Michael Francis, the incoming conductor of the Florida Orchestra, and his wife, Cindy welcomed their first child at 12:21 a.m. Thursday, according to the orchestra.
Annabella Grace Francis weighed in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces. An email from […]
