faculty

A native of Hong Kong, Francis Ku holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting with a minor in Music Education from Louisiana State University. He also earned a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting and a Certificate in Violin Performance from the University of Texas at Arlington, where he was honored as a Scholar of the College of Liberal Arts for exceptional academic achievement.

Inspired by Francis Kan, Ku began his conducting career under the mentorship of Clifton Evans, Robert Gutter, Ovidiu Balan, Scott Terrell, and Damon Talley. In 2017, he won the fourteenth annual International Conductor’s Workshop and Competition in Atlanta.

In 2023, Ku was selected as a Conducting Associate for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and as a Conducting Fellow at the Reynolds Conducting Institute at the Midwest Clinic. In 2024, he was awarded second prize in The American Prize in orchestral conducting.