Ted Francis-Smith

Double bassist Ted Francis-Smith, an alumni of South West Music School, is a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York. Originally from Cornwall, Ted received his early musical education through South West Music School and many and varied youth music opportunities in Cornwall. Ted studied further at Birmingham with Thomas Martin, before moving to America in 2016 to continue study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. At Curtis he studied with Harold Robinson and Edgar Meyer before graduating in 2018 and beginning working life in the Metropolitan Opera.

Ted has performed and toured with numerous British orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra and more. A recent highlight was recording several CDs with the award-winning Sinfonia of London. He was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra from 2013-2016.

As a chamber musician Ted has attended the International Musicians Seminar, Prussia Cove and regularly participates in the Dante Festival. He has also performed the Koussevitzky bass concerto with orchestra and is the dedicatee of British composer Andrew Wilson’s Concerto for Double Bass and Strings.