Michael Francis has quickly established himself as an international conductor creating ongoing relationships with the world's leading orchestras. He came to prominence as a conductor in January 2007 when he replaced an indisposed Valery Gergiev for concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra during the BBC Gubaidulina festival at the Barbican Centre. Only 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 and soon after in January 2009, he replaced André Previn leading a German tour of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony.
Now six seasons later, Francis assumed his role as music director of the Mainly Mozart Festival on October 1, 2014, and as music director for The Florida Orchestra, beginning in September 2015, while entering his third season as chief conductor and artistic advisor to Sweden's Norrköping Symphony Orchestra.
He has also debuted with the New York and Royal Philharmonic, the symphonies of Houston, Seattle, Milwaukee, Quebec, Vancouver and will in 2014-2015 conduct return engagements with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, RTÉ National Symphony of Ireland, the Dresden Philharmonic and the symphonies of Oregon, Cincinnati, Ottawa, New World and Pittsburgh. His European engagements have included the London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE Madrid, Helsinki Philharmonic, the Mariinsky Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and Stuttgart Radio Symphony. In Asia, Francis has worked with Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic and National Taiwan Symphony with upcoming returns to the Malaysian and Seoul philharmonics and a debut with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan.
Francis' 2010 debut with the San Francisco Symphony quickly established a formidable relationship with the orchestra. He has now led 21 different classical programs and three New Year's Eve programs with the orchestra.
Soloists that he works with include Lang Lang, Arcadi Volodos, Christian Tetzlaff, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Vadim Gluzman, Nicola Benedetti, Baiba Skride, Alisa Weilerstein, Daniel Müller-Schott, Miloš and Rufus Wainwright.
Francis has recorded several albums, the most recent of which is the complete Rachmaninoff piano concertos with Valentina Lisitsa and the London Symphony Orchestra for Decca Records in 2013.
