Kari Francis
DMA - Conducting
Kari Francis (b. 1988) is a vocalist, arranger, and choral music educator who has shared the stage with Imogen Heap, competed on Season 3 of NBC’s "The Sing-Off," and can be heard beatboxing on Grammy Award-winning pianist-composer Cory Smythe’s album "Accelerate Every Voice." Kari is the choral director of the Walden School Young Musicians Program, and was previously a conducting fellow and teaching artist with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City and Midori & Friends, respectively. Her writings on contemporary a cappella have been published by GIA Music and NATS, and she frequently leads workshops on arranging, vocal percussion, and group vocal improvisation at music festivals and conferences around the world. Kari holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Teachers College Columbia University, and the University of California, San Diego. Her research interests include choral improvisation, collaborative learning, and popular music in the choral classroom.
Representative Publications
Chapter Contributor, "Teaching Music Through Performance in Contemporary A Cappella" (GIA Music)
Chapter Contributor, "So You Want to Sing A Cappella?" (Rowman & Littlefield)