Australian-born violist Francis Jonah Kefford enjoys a diverse career as a chamber and orchestral musician, teacher and festival director. After studying in Toronto with Steven Dann, Francis spent two seasons as acting principal violist at the Canadian Opera Company. In the UK he performs frequently with the London Symphony and Royal Opera House Orchestra. He has led the viola sections of many distinguished orchestras and performs regularly with the UK’s pre-eminent chamber groups, notably the Britten Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra and the London Mozart Players. Francis is co-director of the Saronic Chamber Music Festival in Greece, where he explores repertory in ensembles based on both artistry and profound friendship. Here, and at festivals across Europe, he has collaborated with some of the finest musicians of his generation. At the 2007 International Viola Congress in Adelaide he premiered the late Peter Sculthorpe’s Elegie for viola and string orchestra. Francis plays a viola by Rodolpho Fredi made in Rome in 1931.