Dusty Francis

Conductor and bass-baritone Dusty Francis enjoys an active career as a performer, clinician, and adjudicator in the New York metropolitan area and across the country. Reflecting his diverse interests, Francis has conducted a breadth of ensembles, including high school, church, community, and university choirs, orchestras, and opera choruses. He currently serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Ars Musica Chorale, a prominent community chorus based in Bergen County, as well as Organist/Choirmaster at All Saints Episcopal Church in nearby Leonia, New Jersey. Francis holds the Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Maryland, where he studied with Edward Maclary and James Ross.

When not on the conducting podium, Francis can often be heard singing with some of the country's finest professional choral ensembles, including the Tucson Chamber Artists, the Atlanta-based Skylark Vocal Ensemble, and the Manhattan Chorale. He has sung under such visionary conductors as Helmuth Rilling, Christoph Eschenbach, Matthew Halls, Paul Goodwin, and Rinaldo Alessandrini.

In addition to his Master's degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Maryland, Francis earned a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Xavier University in Cincinnati, graduating summa cum laude. He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association and the National Association for Music Education. A native of Ohio, he currently resides in Manhattan.

www.dustyfrancis.com