Francis Maxino is a Pianist-Singer/Songwriter, Composer, and Multi-instrumentalist specialising in Keys and Wind.
Drawing upon unique hand-crafted ancient flutes, recorders and ocarinas dating from the neolithic to Renaissance eras, encompassing indigenous global cultures, Francis fuses these and other instruments he commands into evocative, soul-stirring compositions.
He has performed at large festivals such as Whitecliffs Music Festival, Aoraki Arts Festival and Sweetwaters, composed and orchestrated music for Canterbury's Festival of Flowers with the dance feature ‘Waltz of the Flowers’, and was Director of ‘Sacred Sounds’, a world fusion multimedia series in Christchurch. He has performed regularly at Christchurch Cathedral, Christchurch Town Hall, The Arts Centre of Christchurch and other high profile venues across New Zealand in a variety of roles from community events and corporate minstrelling to concert performer.
He has also been involved with dance and theatre all over the South Island, in both set and spontaneous improvisation, and has created music for the UN, Fox TV and Discovery Channel.
Releases include 'Sonic Poems and Instrumentals', a limited edition cassette album and
'Windsongs of the Ocarina', an album highlighting handmade ocarinas and instruments of organic materials from the Arts Unique Gallery, Marahau utilizing only wind and percussion with a minimalistic aim of purity and simplicity in it's artistic conception.
Recent projects involve digitally consolidating half a lifetimes work into a variety of albums including a song anthology, old and new piano compositions and larger scale electro-acoustic instrumental works.