A former double-bass player in the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), Michael Francis came to prominence as a conductor in January of 2007, stepping in for Valery Gergiev and John Adams with the LSO. Francis began his appointment as the chief conductor of the Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic Orchestra in the 2019/20 season. In addition, he has also been the music director of the Florida Orchestra since the fall of 2014, where his role in Community-Engagement initiatives has helped to grow the organization significantly. As music director of the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego since 2014, Francis and Mainly Mozart have recently completed an ambitious multi-year exploration of Mozart’s life, which is slated to continue through at least 2028. Previously, from 2012 until 2017, he was chief conductor and artistic advisor of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra.

In response to the Covid pandemic, he developed new formats together with State Philharmonic, Florida Orchestra, and Mainly Mozart Festival. These include innovative programming for smaller ensembles, split-orchestra concerts, live streaming, drive-in concerts, educational videos and curated online experiences.

Recent highlights include performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Berlin and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestras, the NHK Symphony and the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Michael Francis has collaborated with notable soloists such as Lang Lang, Itzhak Perlman, Christian Tetzlaff, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Truls Mørk, Håkan Hardenberger, Maximilian Hornung, Emanuel Ax, Ian Bostridge, James Ehnes, Sting and many others.

Francis is particularly passionate about his extensive educational work with young musicians.