Francis Kleynjans was born in Paris on 15th April 1951. He studied the guitar under Alexandre Lagoya at the Paris Conservatoire. He was laureate of the Foundation Yehudi Menuhin and won a prize for composition at the 22nd International Guitar Competition in Paris which earned him many commissions both in France and abroad. A talented performer and a composer with an international reputation, he has written works for orchestra, guitar quintet and three concertos for guitar and orchestra. These works, first performed in France (Paris, Cannes, Nice) were also played with great success notably in the USA and Canada. Kleynjans has composed more than 400 pieces for guitar (teaching works, concert solos, pieces for several guitars) which appear in concert programmes throughout the world, in particular in Germany, Spain, Scandinavia, Japan