Ron Francois, violin
Ron Francois has performed in venues across the United States, Canada, Europe and Mexico as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. His performances have consistently won the acclaim of notable musicians. "...A fantastic violinist...a big talent" quoted Abram Shtern -concertmaster of the Kiev State Opera and Professor at the Kiev Conservatory. Francois' playing is "...extremely musical.Francois plays with great sensitivity and warmth" quoted concert violinist Daniel Heifetz"....A wonderful musician...sensitive ensemble player and a brilliant violinist" said Michael Tree from the Guarneri String Quartet.
Ron François has collaborated with some of the world’s finest musicians including Boris Garlitsky-former concertmaster of the London Philharmonic orchestra, Martin Chalifour-concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra, Arkady Fomin of the Dallas Symphony, the Borromeo String Quartet to name a few. He has appeared with major orchestras in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
As a chamber musician, Ron Francois has a broad experience. From 2008-2012, Ron Francois served as the violinist for the Mendelssohn Trio and performed numerous concerts in Europe and the United States with this group. In 2010, the Denver post named the Mendelssohn Trio one of Colorado’s top chamber music groups. As a member of the Canadian chamber orchestra IMusici de Montreal, Francois toured extensively in Canada and the USA. Francois appears on two CD’s with this group on the Chandos Label.
Founder of the Duo Francois with pianist Silvana Santinelli, the duo was the winner of the Silver Medal in the best “Duo” and “Emerging Artists” category at the Global Music Awards. This prize was awarded for the 2017 release of the Duo Francois’ first CD entitled “Mexico City Blues” on the Itinerant Classics label. This CD was also nominated as a Semifinalist in the “American Prize Awards” under the category of “Professional Chamber Music Groups”. “Mexico City Blues” compiles works from three modern composers from Canada, Mexico and the United States. The CD was partially funded by the prestigious Mexican grant, FONCA (Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes.
Since then, the Duo Francois has commissioned the Sonata No. 5, Op. 95 for Violin and Piano by Canadian composer Andrew Paul MacDonald, “Vault”, Veil, and Veer”. The premiere took place in September 2022 at the University Center for the Arts in Fort Collins, CO. The recording of this piece will be in the near future.
Ron Francois’ most influential mentors were, Concert Violinist Daniel Heifetz, Arnold Steinhart and John Dalley from the Guarneri String Quartet, Elizabeth Adkins-former concertmaster of the National Symphony, David Salness of the Audubon Quartet, Svi Zeitlin and Charles Castleman from the Eastman School of Music.
Renown as wonderful teacher and pedagogue, Ron Francois has been in demand since 2004. He has presented masterclasses in Canada, the United States, Mexico and China. For more than 15 years he has been invited frequently to teach and give master classes at Universities and Conservatories in Mexico. He just came back from performing and teaching at the prestigious Festival Internacional de Camara, (FICA25) in Xalapa Veracruz.
In 2013, he won the Outstanding Service Award for teaching from the Colorado ASTA chapter.
Since 2002, Ron Francois has served as the head of the string division and is the main violin professor at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.