Mace Francis
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Mace Francis
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1978|8|23}}{{cn|date=October 2024}}
| birth_place = Geelong, Victoria, Australia{{cn|date=October 2024}}
| instrument = guitar, trombone
| associated_acts = Mace Francis Orchestra, West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra
| website = {{URL|macefrancis.com}}
}}
Mace Francis (born 1978) is an Australian composer, band director, and academic.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2021 |title=Mace Francis music @ All About Jazz |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/mace-francis |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=All About Jazz Musicians |language=en}}
Career
Francis moved to Perth, Western Australia from Victoria in 2000 to study jazz composition and arranging. He graduated from WA Academy of Performing Arts in 2004 and completed a PhD at Edith Cowan University in 2015.{{Cite web |date=2019-11-06 |title=An Interview with Dr Mace Francis – Perth International Jazz Festival and beyond - The Curb |url=https://www.thecurb.com.au/an-interview-with-dr-mace-francis-perth-international-jazz-festival-and-beyond/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |language=en-US}}
In 2003, he was nominated for the Australian Jazz Bell Awards' Best Australian Jazz Song of the Year for Land Speed Record off his album of the same name{{Cite web |last=Zolin |first=Miriam |date=2013-04-25 |title=Nominations announced for the 2013 Australian Jazz Bell awards |url=http://australianjazz.net/2013/04/nominations-announced-for-the-2013-australian-jazz-bell-awards/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=AustralianJazz.net |language=en-US}} The album was recorded with a nonet in New York and included American saxophonist Jon Gordon.{{Cite web |last=Hardaker |first=John |date=2012-11-25 |title=CD Review: Mace Francis New York Nonet – Land Speed Record |url=http://australianjazz.net/2012/11/cd-review-mace-francis-new-york-nonet-land-speed-record/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=AustralianJazz.net |language=en-US}} It was released on Listen/Hear Collective, a record label run by Francis and Johannes Luebbers in Perth.{{Cite web |last=Hardaker |first=John |date=2013-10-07 |title=Q&A {{!}} The Listen / Hear Collective – John Hardaker |url=http://australianjazz.net/2013/10/qa-the-listen-hear-collective/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=AustralianJazz.net |language=en-US}}
In 2005, Francis formed the Mace Francis Orchestra and they released seven albums over the next 15 years.{{Cite web |last=Appleby |first=Rosalind |date=2020-08-13 |title=Big Band Birthday |url=https://www.seesawmag.com.au/2020/08/big-band-birthday |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=Seesawmag |language=en-US}} Their album Music for Average Photography was nominated for two awards, making the 2016 Australian Jazz Bell Awards shortlist for Best Australian Jazz Ensemble,{{Cite web |last=Fotakis |first=Nikolas |date=2016-06-12 |title=The 2016 Australian Jazz Bell Awards shortlist |url=http://australianjazz.net/2016/06/the-2016-australian-jazz-bell-awards-shortlist/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=AustralianJazz.net |language=en-US}} and winning 2015's Art Music Awards for Jazz Work of the Year.{{Cite web |date=11 August 2015 |title=2015 Art Music Awards - winners |url=https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/article/2015-art-music-awards-winners |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=Australian Music Centre}}
Since 2008, Francis has been Artistic Director of the West Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra, and Musical Director for their Wednesday Night Orchestra.{{Cite web |date=2020-10-28 |title=Jazz orchestra's history of success |url=https://www.seesawmag.com.au/2020/10/jazz-orchestras-history-of-success |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=Seesawmag |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2017-04-22 |title=Artistic Team |url=https://wayjo.com/about/artistic-team/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=WAYJO |language=en-AU}} He has also held the position of Festival Director at the Perth International Jazz Festival since 2017 after the festivals founder and previous Festival Director Graham Wood died.{{Cite web |last=Curl |first=Amy |date=2018-10-13 |title=PERTH JAZZ FESTIVAL LAUNCHES NEW SPRING PROGRAM |url=http://jazz.org.au/perth-jazz-festival-launches-new-spring-program/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=Jazz Australia |language=en-AU}}
For his 2021 album Isolation Emancipation, Francis recorded himself playing the trombone for the first time, after he began learning the instrument in 2015. The album was released with a new band Mace Francis Plus 11.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-16 |title=Big Band Composer Mace Francis to Release 'Isolation Emancipation' on November 26th - The Curb |url=https://www.thecurb.com.au/big-band-composer-mace-francis-to-release-isolation-emancipation-on-november-26th/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |language=en-US}}
Awards
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Awarding body !Award !Work !Outcome |
| 2016
|Australian Jazz Bell Awards |Best Australian Jazz Ensemble |Music for Average Photography – Mace Francis Orchestra |Nominated |
| 2015
|Art Music Awards |Jazz Work of the Year |Music for Average Photography |Won |
| 2015
|Jazz Song of the Year |Corio Landscape |
| 2013
|Australian Jazz Bell Awards |Best Australian Jazz Song of the Year |Land Speed Record |Nominated |
| 2004
|APRA Professional Development Award | |
Academic papers
From traffic rises: Site specificity and the compositional process (2016)
Music in Site: Integrating elements of site-specificity into composition (2015)
Site in Sound: A Review of Four Musical Works that Integrate Site Into Sound (2012) with Cat Hope
Bob Brookmeyer: composer, performer, pedagogue (2006)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Discogs artist}}
- [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/do/search/?q=author_lname%3A%22Francis%22%20author_fname%3A%22Mace%22&start=0&context=302996&facet= Mace Francis on Edith Cowan University Research Online]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Mace}}
Category:Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts alumni