Francis Graffeo, Chief Executive Officer, is a dynamic and respected leader with over 40 years of success spanning performance, production, education, festivals, and nonprofits. In 2024, he was appointed CEO of the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, a renowned museum, historic village, and amphitheater complex on 13 acres in Townsend, Tennessee.
Active as a cultural voice, Mr. Graffeo founded the award-winning Knoxville Opera Rossini Festival in 2002, a cultural cornerstone that continues to draw tens of thousands of visitors to East Tennessee.
As a conservatory-trained conductor, Frank has led hundreds of opera, symphony, and ballet performances in the US and abroad. He is deeply committed to the power of the arts and humanities to change lives. He led the nonprofit Joy of Music School for 18 years, providing tuition-free music instruction to thousands of disadvantaged children while cementing the organization as an educational, artistic, and socially-conscious force.
Nowadays, Frank counts his mountainous commute to the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center as a priceless perk. He has an unwavering commitment to the heritage and culture of the Smoky Mountains, Southern Appalachia, and 19,000 years of humankind in Tuckaleechee Cove.
- Education and Training
- Bachelor of Music Education, Magna cum laude: Texas Tech University
- Master of Music, with Distinction in Performance: New England Conservatory of Music, Boston
- Diploma: Italian Language and Cultural Studies: Centro Linguistico Sperimentale, Florence
- Diploma: University of Tennessee Consortium for Social Enterprise Effectiveness
- Diploma: Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Executive Training
- Graduate: Leadership Knoxville
- Class Member: Leadership Blount, 2025-26
- Honors, Awards, Service
- National Endowment for the Arts Grants Panelist
- Opera America “Bravo Excellence” Award
- Tennessee Theatre Grand Reopening Committee
- Tennessee Arts Commission Grants Panelist
- Tennessee, Tennessee Colonel Aide de Camp Award conferred by Governor Bill Haslam
- Metropolitan Opera Guild, Laffont Competition Judge, nationwide
- Personal
- Frank lives in Knoxville with his wife Christy, a skilled musician, administrator, and ultrasound technologist. Their son, Enzo, is a student at Tennessee Tech University majoring in Mechanical Engineering, with a minor in Cello.
