Edward Francis leads a versatile career in music as a pianist, professor, administrator, and arts advocate. He earned Bachelor and Masters’ degrees in piano performance from Cal State University, Northridge, and also attended the Aspen Music School. He has performed concerto, solo and chamber music recitals in the USA and Canada. He currently holds faculty positions at CSUN, where he is chair of the Piano Pedagogy area, Pepperdine University, and Moorpark College. He is president of the Music Teachers’ Assn. of California-Conejo Valley Branch. He served on the Education Committee for the New West Symphony, and currently is a member of the Artistic Committee for the Ventura Music Festival. He was awarded the 2006 Presidential Scholar in the Arts Teacher Recognition Award by the Secretary of Education at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium and the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington DC. He founded and remains chairman of the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic.