FULL BIOGRAPHY
FRANCIS LÉGER,
“Extraordinary.”, “Different leader. Different sound.”, “Simply further evidence of an unusual talent.”, “Charismatic maestro.”, “This is the best sound I’ve heard ... not only painting Mussorgsky’s florid musical images, but building triumphantly to the finale.”
American conductor Francis Léger is recognized as a gifted interpretive artist, who has a track record of transforming and building orchestras, and of exciting American and international audiences with profoundly moving performances. What further informs his musicianship is that perhaps not since the 11th century and the work of Guido d'Arezzo in Italy, has there both been a fundamental change and dynamic outcome in how to successfully read music and teach it today – until now. After his years of work and important discovery prior to 2001, he has “cracked the code”. Léger uses and now teaches the singular solution for aspiring musicians and music teachers to read any note, on any staff, using any clef.
As Founder and CEO of Applied Virtuosics™, he continues to build upon an enormous range of experience. In Prague, he served as Principal Conductor then Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Chamber Philharmonic. In China, he served as Music Advisor to the Kong Xiang-Dong Music Organization based in Shanghai. He first garnered international attention over twenty-five years ago and was one of the first Americans to guest conduct the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. In Italy, he served as Music Director of the Rome Philharmonic Orchestra.
Léger’s trademark is a most unusual combination of meticulous technical preparation, sincere and passionate musicality, and what might be called a mature, level-headed, yet dynamic charisma. This along with his refreshing lack of inclination for aggressive self-sell, is an “outward and honest expression of true openness, generosity and professional stability of personality." His managerial capability does as much as his podium persona to win the trust of orchestras and singers, and inspire them to throw themselves into passionate professional performance. His thorough and disciplined preparatory work can be an exciting technical and cultural encounter for orchestra and audience alike.
In the United States, Léger has worked with symphony orchestras and chamber orchestras in the Northeast and Southwest, and served a five-year tenure in music, production, and administration at the Opera Company of Boston. He has held conducting positions with other opera companies including American National Opera, Austin Opera, Opera New England, and the Hartt Opera Theater. Early in his career, he made his opera debut conducting Donizetti's, “Daughter of the Regiment” at the historic Central City Opera Festival in Colorado.
Léger has conducted conservatory and university orchestras, internationally and in the United States as music director and guest conductor, and among others served at The Boston Conservatory, The University of Minnesota, Duluth, Central Texas College, and Eastern Connecticut State University. As Director of Orchestras and Assistant Professor at UMD he led the orchestral program conducting the symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, and orchestra festival, and was the artist cellist on faculty. At Texas A&M University, Central Texas, he was the music faculty and first Artist-in-Residence, where he taught a full complement of music courses and soon established their music program and orchestra festival, ushered in a four-year music degree program, performed chamber music concerts, and served in the University Center for Applied Research and Engagement. As head of music research, he also worked on cybersecurity in music and founded the innovative Music Performance and Research Lab.
Léger studied and trained at leading institutions, programs, and institutes in the United States and Europe, and graduated Phi Kappa Phi honors from Ithaca College School of Music in New York. He began playing cello shortly before age twenty-one and completed his remaining studies in two years. Léger then earned an MM degree in Cello Performance and was awarded the Graduate Assistantship in Conducting from The Boston Conservatory. He continued advanced studies in orchestral and opera conducting at the University of Hartford, The Hartt School with Austrian conductor Kurt Klippstatter.
Léger’s work has taken him to major cities including Beijing, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Barcelona, London, and Paris. As Special Guest Conductor and Composer at the International Shanghai Television Festival, he was Music Director for classical programming and conducted live televised concerts, which featured world premieres of his music. He has been a Visiting Artist and Scholar at the American Academy in Rome.
While working in Italy, he accepted a personal invitation and was one of the last conductors to study with the legendary Franco Ferrara. After hearing Francis Léger conduct the Arena Orchestra of Verona, Ferrara stated, “Rarely have I heard such emotion.”
Francis Léger is represented by Arts Management Associates.