A champion of contemporary music, percussionist Dr. Francis Favis enjoys a multi-faceted and multi-national musical career. He has performed on prestigious stages such as the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), SXSW, the College Music Society International Conference, the Canadian Music Centre, the Red Note New Music Festival, the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS), and the Toronto Creative Music Lab. With over 30 commission and premiere credits to his name, Francis continues to be involved with the creation and performance of new works by living composers. He has had the privilege of working closely with a number of acclaimed composers including Kelley Sheehan (Gaudeamus Prize winner), James Tabata (Morton Gould Award winner), and Sophie Mathieu (KMFA composer-in-residence). Francis is a founding member of Less Than 10 Music and SoundMap Ensemble, both of which specialize in contemporary chamber music. Recent performance highlights include the Texas premiere of Mayke Nas’ seldom performed I Delayed People’s Flights by Walking Slowly in Narrow Hallways for amplified chalkboard quartet and the world premiere of Sophie Mathieu’s VOID for vibraphone and electronics.
Equally at home with a large ensemble, Francis has experience both in the front and at the back. He has been featured as a soloist on several percussion concerti, including Michael Daugherty’s timpani concerto, Raise the Roof, and David T. Little’s unique percussion quartet concerto Radiant Child. As a section percussionist, he has performed with several organizations such as the Heartland Festival Orchestra, Red River Ensemble, the American Festival Pops Orchestra and the renowned University of Texas Wind Ensemble.
An in-demand educator, Dr. Favis is the newly appointed Assistant Professor of Percussion at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, overseeing the Brownsville campus, where he teaches applied lessons and percussion methods, coach percussion ensemble, assist the brandnew Vaquero Marching Band drumline. Groups and individuals under his tutelage have enjoyed success and accolades, such as TMEA All-State, admission into college music programs, and Superior ratings in Solo and Ensemble competitions. Francis has presented clinics and masterclasses all over the world with appearances at Far Eastern University (Philippines) The Music for All Summer Symposium, Texas Woman’s University, the Twin City Band Festival (IL), Northern Virginia Youth Winds, and the South Texas Percussion Festival. Previously, Francis has held teaching positions at Tarleton State University, and The University of Texas at Austin.
Outside of the classical realm, Dr. Favis has been heavily involved in the marching arts as well. As a participant, he performed with the Pioneer Drum & Bugle Corps, and Cavaliers Indoor Percussion. After his years of eligibility, Francis continued to stay involved as an educator and arranger. Past groups under his instruction include Chantilly HS (WGI Open Class finalists), Bloomington HS (IMBC Finalists), and James Madison HS (VA State Champions). At the collegiate level, Francis was most recently the drumline director for Tarleton State University,and previously served for 4 years as the director of Texas Drums, the drumline of the Longhorn Band of UT Austin.
Dr. Favis earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin. He holds additional degrees in Music Performance from George Mason University (MM) and Illinois State University (BM). His primary teachers include Thomas Burritt, Ivan Trevino, David Collier, John Kilkenny, and John Spirtas. Francis is a proud artist-endorser of Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, and Sabian Cymbals.