Gary France loves to play music, all kinds! You will find him at home in the orchestra pit, a circus band, the concert stage, a jazz club, a Western Swing Band, folk festivals, Greek weddings, techno raves or in Canberra, Australia making music with his percussion students at the Australian National University. Past performances and teaching have taken him to India, Africa, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand and all parts of North America. Gary has been an ANU School of Music faculty member since 1998, and is director of the ANU ensemble DRUMatiX.

Gary has performed with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Nova Ensemble, the West Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestras, the Dallas Brass, the Doddworth Saxhorn Ensemble, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and is currently principal timpanist/percussionist with the Canberra Symphony with whom he performed William Kraft's Concerto for Timpani and orchestra in 2001. Gary's list of world premieres includes works by Larry Sitsky, Ross Edwards, Peter Sculthorpe, Robert Cucinotta, Edward Applebaum and Robert Casteels.

Gary’s leadership activities include former Head of the West Australian Conservatorium and the ANU School of Music, as well as Convener/Artistic Director of numerous major events such as Heartbeat International World Music Festival (1995), the Australian National Marimba Festival (2001) the Rhythms of Life Percussion Festival (2002), the Australian National Percussion Symposium (2003), and the Australian Music Educators National Conference (2005). Gary is also the Lead Principal Investigator in the ANU New Media Laboratory (NML), a research team that explores the multifaceted relationships between acoustic instruments.

His most recent projects have included producing the sound design and music for the Australian premiere production by The Street Theatre of the play QED by Peter Parnell (West Wing); Video Phase by Steve Reich with performances at the Taiwan-Australia New Media Art Symposium (AUS) and KOSA International Percussion Festival (USA); collaborative composition and performance for the Southeast Asian segment of the Opening Ceremonies (15th Asian Games DOHA 2006); and the New Directions Music Festival (Singapore).