James Chute, U-T San Diego, 26th October 2014
In Michael Francis’ first season as Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra’s music director, his course is clear. For the just-announced 2015 season, he’s going back to Mozart.
“What we’re really looking to do in 2015 is celebrate Mozart,” said Francis, who succeeds the 26-year-old festival’s founding music director, David […]
Bay News 9, 23rd October 2014
Local Bay News team interviews Michael Francis regarding his new role as the Music Director for The Florida Orchestra.
Original footage available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFEOEzMTM50
Stephanie Hayes, Tampa Bay Times, 22nd October 2014
Michael Francis was relieved. His books had just arrived from overseas.
The British conductor was starting to plot a life here as music director of the Florida Orchestra. He had spent the weekend with his pregnant wife, shopping for furniture to fill their new Land O’Lakes home, visiting […]
Susan Giles Wantuck, WUSF Radio, 22nd October 2014
This weekend, concert goers can get better acquainted with the new Florida Orchestra Music Director Michael Francis. This will be the first time he’ll conducted the orchestra since he was named its music director this past June.
The program includes music by English Composer Edward Elgar, whom Francis […]
Stephanie Hayes, Tampa Bay Times, 2nd October 2014
Autumn has just begun, but for the Florida Orchestra, it may as well be the season of spring.
It’s a time of renewal and budding relationships for the orchestra, which has spent two seasons reeling and healing from the abrupt, early departure of music director Stefan Sanderling. When […]
Robert Egerton, Musical America, 30th September 2014
San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival has appointed British conductor Michael Francis as its new music director, succeeding festival co-founder David Atherton, who exited last year at the close of his (and the festival’s)…
James Chute, U-T San Diego, 27th September 2014
“British conductor Michael Francis is the new music director of the San Diego Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra.
Mainly Mozart made the announcement Saturday at a gathering in Rancho Santa Fe for Club Amadeus, a group of the festival’s primary patrons. Francis has signed a three-year contract and his […]
John Fleming, Classical Voice North America, 12th September 2014
“And then there were four. Over the past couple of years, the largest professional orchestras in Florida all carried out music director searches in the same time frame.
Two of the ensembles – the Naples Philharmonic and the Sarasota Orchestra – had new artistic leadership under contract […]
Herald Scotland, 21st July 2014
“Michael Francis conducts the Usher Hall Gala, when the programme includes the huge Alpine Symphony of Richard Strauss and a reprise of the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra by Sally Beamish, commissioned by NYOS in 2003 and again featuring star trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger as soloist…”
Janos Gereben, San Francisco Classical Voice, 8th July 2014
“The global search went on for three years, but in the end it took just two key performances for Florida Orchestra leaders to know they had their conductor.
On Tuesday, they named British musician Michael Francis as the orchestra’s new music director…”
