Our son attended a neighborhood concert and was struck with the idea that he’d like to learn to play the flute. We knew absolutely nothing about flutes at that time, but we consider ourselves so, so fortunate that Frannie came to us by recommendation.

Frannie is fun and has a great sense of humor. She is endlessly patient and relaxed, but also firm when she needs to be. She always keeps the music interesting for him – for example, after a period of working hard on the pieces in the Suzuki Method repertoire, she encourages him to mix it up and play some things just for fun, like the popular themes to Star Wars and Harry Potter.

Our son, now 9, has been studying with Frannie for almost a year now, and I cannot believe how much he has grown and improved in such a short amount of time. Frannie inspires him to play his very best; he works hard to emulate her gorgeous tone. He absolutely loves his weekly lessons, he looks forward to her student recitals, and he is motivated to practice every day.

It is a beautiful thing to watch your child fall in love with making music, and we credit this to Frannie. She has our highest recommendation.

I took lessons with Frannie for more than ten years, starting at age 4 in an introduction to music class at the Brooklyn Music School. Through her I found not just a great love for music but a lens through which I discovered and learned about the world. With Frannie, once a week for nearly my entire childhood, I would learn to practice and work at a piece or phrase, or to interpret and have and opinion on music I played, or to play like I mean every note, and so on endlessly. Those skills were some of the earliest and most important lessons I had about how to live and enjoy my life, and art, and how to work hard, and care about what I do for my own sake and no one else's. And I don't believe just any teacher could have done that for me. Since moving on I have often felt a different excitement and deep understanding of music than many of the peers I met who have spent far more time than me studying music.

I'm still a musician. I graduated recently from Bard College with a degree in music and have since played onstage in a very successful off-broadway musical. I've played in many orchestras including with graduate & conservatory students at Bard, with the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra, and at LaGuardia High School (formerly Music & Art). I have moved on to other instruments, and forms of music, but I credit Frances not just for showing me how much I love music but for teaching me in many ways how to enjoy and get what I want from life. I can't recommend her enough.

My daughter Coco studied with Frances for a number of years. Without question Francis was the best music teacher Coco ever had, and she's had quite a few.
Francis is generous, creative, and inspiring to work with, she has the perfect balance of qualities that a music student needs. She's highly motivating and makes demands of her students which stretch them to achieve their full potential, yet she never pushes past their limits; Coco never felt stressed by her practice but always wanted to fulfill the expectation of excellence which Francis instilled in her. Francis always led by example and was kind, supportive, and a lot of fun to work with. She's also disciplined, reliable, and punctual. I give her the highest recommendation.