Robert Franz – Associate Conductor

Music Director of the Boise Philharmonic, Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony, and Music Director of the Mansfield Symphony, Robert Franz is emerging as one of the most talented conductors of his generation. Eminent composer Bright Sheng has praised Franz for his “extremely musical and passionate approach towards music making” and critics have hailed his “masterly pace, emphasis and technical control” calling his conducting “viscerally thrilling”.

Having just finished his second season as Music Director of the Boise Philharmonic, Robert Franz has made great strides in reaching out to the community. This past season Franz continued to build the Orchestra’s composer residency program, which included award winning composer Jennifer Higdon whose visit culminated in a performance of her Concerto for Orchestra in February. Franz is also continuing to create partnerships with other leading arts groups and educational institutions in the area, including Opera Idaho, the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and the Boise Ballet, and launching a new Casual Classics Series of informal Saturday morning concerts.

Robert Franz began his tenure as Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony in June 2008 where he has already led the Symphony in a broad range of highly successful education and family concerts. He continued his seventh season as Music Director of the Mansfield Symphony in Ohio, where he has created highly successful collaborations with other arts, educational and civic groups, and was awarded the Extraordinary Leadership Award in 2007.

With a wide and varying knowledge of symphonic and operatic works, Maestro Franz has worked with some of today’s finest classical soloists, including James Galway, Joshua Bell and Rachel Barton, as well as many of the top pops artists such as Chris Botti, Chaka Khan and Judy Collins. He has been invited to guest conduct orchestras throughout the United States, including multiple appearances with such orchestras as the Rochester Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony and the Columbus Symphony, among others. His guest conducting appearances this season included the Peoria Symphony, Lake Placid Sinfonietta and Ashville Lyric Opera.

A champion of new music, Franz has conducted numerous world premieres. As associate conductor of the Louisville Orchestra, he re-vitalized an ASCAP award-winning new music concert series, and served as co-host of In a Different Key, a weekly contemporary classical music radio program on WUOL.

On two occasions, ASCAP has recognized Robert Franz for his advocacy in arts education. Under his direction, both the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008 and the Louisville Orchestra in 2001 were awarded the Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming. The Louisville Orchestra’s award lead to the creation of a 2.5-hour education program for Kentucky Educational Television entitled, Creating Music and Stories. Winner of the 2008 BPO/ECMEA Music Educators Award for Excellence, Mr. Franz is a strong supporter of arts education and has created arts education programs for the Carolina Chamber Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Louisville Orchestra, West End Chamber Ensemble and Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad Symphony, including that organization’s innovative Bolton Research Project.

In addition to his current posts, Mr. Franz served as Resident Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic through the 2008-09 season and Associate Conductor of the Louisville Orchestra from 1997-2006. He has also led the Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad Symphony, Louisville Youth Orchestra, and Winston-Salem Youth Symphony. He continues to serve as Music Director Emeritus of the Carolina Chamber Symphony, an orchestra that he founded, and provide educational programming workshops at the National Repertory Orchestra during the summer.

Mr. Franz received his Master of Music degree in Conducting from the North Carolina School of the Arts in 1992 and his Bachelor of Music degree in Oboe Performance in 1990 from that same institution. He has participated in conducting workshops in the Czech Republic, St. Petersburg (Russia), Nashville (ASOL) and the Festival at Sandpoint, and was a participant in the 1997 National Conductor Preview (ASOL).

Robert Franz website