
Mary Frances K.

Teaching Locations:

Teaching Locations:

Levels taught:
Beginner, Intermediate, AdvancedAbout Mary Frances K.
TEACHING OVERVIEW:
Mary Frances has been teaching voice since 1987. She works with youth and adults, beginner and advanced. She helps voice students develop a natural, healthy, beautiful sound, proper placement and projection of the voice for singing and speaking. Her goal is to help singers gain fulfillment and joy while improving their art. She believes music should be fun and rewarding.
VOICE STUDENTS of hers have won university placement and scholarships and have been accepted into Allstate Chorus for High School in Georgia.
She also teaches PIANO. She has taught piano for about 10 years. She studied piano privately for 10 years and had further study at Indiana University.
Students wishing to have any COMBINATION of piano, music theory, sight reading and/or vocal development can receive a program of study that meets their individual needs.
PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE:
Mary Frances has performed with the Southeastern Savoyards Light Opera Company, the Atlanta Opera Chorus and Studio, the Atlanta Symphony Chorus, Marietta Theater in the Square, and Neighborhood Playhouse. She has sung title roles in Patience, Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel. Other roles include Josephine in HMS Pinafore, the Princess in The Student Prince, and Connie in The 1940's Radio Hour.
She has performed many roles with Capitol City Opera Company (CCOC) including Annina in The Saint of Bleecker Street, Bastienne in Mozart's Bastien and Bastienne, Nora in Vaughan Williams' Rider's to the Sea, and Gilda in Milton Granger's Talk Opera. She sang for many years in CCOC's school outreach program. She has sung many concerts for CCOC as well.
Mary Frances was a soloist in Handel's Messiah for Peachtree Presbyterian Church. She has worked as the soloist at The First Church of Christ Scientist in Roswell, Georgia and at The Second Church of Christ Scientist in Sandy Springs, Georgia ( This church has now closed). She occasionally directs and sings in the choir, and substitutes for the cantorial soloist at Congregation Dor Tamid in Alpharetta, Georgia.
EDUCATION:
Mary Frances holds a bachelors degree from Indiana University School of Music in both Voice and Theater. Mary Frances was a long time student of the late Elizabeth Nohe Colson of Atlanta, Georgia. She continues to study with Irena Sylyia, director of Panama Opera. She has attended Brevard Music Center, The Georgia State Opera Workshop and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. While in Graz, Mary Frances was a finalist in the Meistersinger competition.
*LESSON DETAILS
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LESSON LENGTH:
30-minutes for beginning adults and elementary students up to 5th grade. 45-minutes for intermediate adults and students 5th to 8th grade. 60-minute lessons for more advanced students high school and up.
TEACHING STYLE AND CURRICULUM:
ALL: My teaching style is relaxed and nurturing I use positive reinforcement to encourage progress with adults and children. Students are allowed to progress at their own pace.
PIANO: I prefer the Alfred's Basic Piano Library series for my piano students. I find that my students learn more music theory and music reading with this series. If the student has started lessons in a different series, I can work with that as well. I have a large music library that provides a wide selection of music in addition to the Alfred books. I expect most beginning students to learn basic music reading and theory in 3 to 6 months. They should also to be able to play simple tunes in that time. I am an active professional singer, so I have a large library of vocal material at my disposal.
All piano students are REQUIRED to have an instrument to practice on at home. The piano MUST HAVE AT MINIMUM:
IF Digital - 88 full sized, weighted keys with polyphonic sound ( at least 10 keys should be able to sound at at the same time) and a sustain pedal,
OR - If Accoustic - maintained and properly tuned.
VOICE: I begin my voice lessons with breathing techniques and vocal placement using widely accepted exercises coming from a large body of sources such as:
Vaccai, professional level vocal teachers, coaches and directors that I have worked with and learned from over the last 30 years, and the writings of highly acclaimed authors in the vocal field. I also have a wide selection of art song books, oratorio, musical theatre, and opera. My background is classical and musical theatre, but I believe all styles of singing need the basic skills of breathing and vocal placement. I strive to keep voices healthy as well as find each student's most beautiful sound. Most students will see progress in breath control, range, projection and diction in 3 to 6 months.
Repertoire is chosen on an individual basis. Younger students and beginners will be encouraged to not push their voices with material that is too difficult for their individual abilities because singing requires a certain amount of physical endurance. My goal is to find each student's natural sound for whatever style he or she sings.
Voice students are encouraged to bring a recording device to lessons to use for later practice and study.
STUDIO EQUIPMENT AND LIBRARY:
Piano, Computer with Internet Access, Library of Music and Reference Materials (Sample Listing): Alfred's Basic Piano Library Books Twenty-Four Italian Songs and Arias, Medium High and Medium Low Voice; Schirmer Sing at First Sight; Alfred Basics of Singing by Jan Schmidt; Schirmer Many Soprano Collections of Arias, Oratorio, Sacred, and Art Songs from Schirmer Several Broadway Music Collections from Hal Leonard Discover Your Voice by Oren Brown Training the Speaking Voice by Virgil Anderson International Phonetic Alphabet for Singers by Wall Dynamics of the Singing Voice by Meribeth Bunch Classical Singer Magazine Subscription Journal of Singing, The Official Journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing,Inc.Subscription
SPECIALTIES:
I am classically trained bel canto voice teacher, but I can work with broadway and pop styles. I teach sight singing for students pursuing auditions for All State Chorus and College entrance, etc. I use the Alfred Basic Piano Series for Piano students
Reviews
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Due to the Covid-19, my lesson with Mary Frances became online. Whether in-home or online, she is very knowledgeable and teaches precisely which no other teacher took the time and taught me. Therefore, I learn tremendously more from her than any other teachers I had in the past. She herself takes lessons from great masters and has been constantly learning to sharpen her skills. She is also very gentle and patient. I love working with her very much and would recommend her to anyone who wants to improve singing skills!

I thoroughly enjoyed Mary Frances' approach to singing. Though I could not continue taking classes with her because I had moved, I was very happy with her instruction and her knowledge. Highly recommend

Mary Frances is a patient and very experienced instructor. She explains voice theory and placement well and easily demonstrates technique to students. Her experience and knowledge as a teacher and especially as a performer is priceless. I highly recommend her.

Mary Frances is extremely patient and explains things to my little one in terms that she can understand. She is understanding of my crazy schedule as a working mom of two and her home is always clean and inviting.

Very knowledgable and patient teacher - recommended!

Mary K Frances is a truly excellent teacher! My 14 yr. old daughter loved working with her. She possesses an impressive depth of talent, experience and a detailed understanding of the voice and vocal techniques. These qualities and a patient kind manner, enables her to teach any student at any level from beginner to seasoned professional. Anyone interested in improving their voice would be lucky to have her!

She was patient with me, completely sweet, and clear with her instructions.

My daughter has had the pleasure of learning from Mrs. Katz for the last 4 months. My daughter sings a style of music different from Mrs. Katz's usual, but we decided to give this a try because my daughter was having some trouble with her range and producing a good sound in the higher octaves. Mrs. Katz understood our needs immediately and started working each week to improve my daughter's range. She started from the basics, improving my daughter's breathing technique befor moving onto scales and other exercises. She is very kind and soft-spoken, as well as technically versed; she explained to us, anatomically, how sound is produced and resonates. Just recently, my daughter placed very highly in a national music competition, most definitely thanks to Mrs. Katz's lessons. Thank you!

Mary Frances was very kind and patient with my 6 year old son and he responded very well to her. She also has a beautiful singing voice - I would highly recommend her !!

Thank you for making my first visit so enjoyable.

Hi--Mary Frances suggested that we go with 45-minute sessions, and I agree. We ran over about 15 minutes yesterday, so could you change my 30-minute charge to a 45-minute charge starting with yesterday's session? Then could you let me know once this change has been made so I can let her know? She will then change the schedule accordingly. Thanks, David

Love her. Makes me feel so comfortable

Mary is a great teacher! She's really nice, made the lessons fun for my daughter. Mary explained the information in a way that was easy for my daughter to understand and apply.

Working with Mary Frances has been absolutely amazing! With her guidance, I have obtained better breathing skills and correct posture for singing. I came to a lesson one day and I had infected tonsils. She gave the best advice on how to take care of my vocal cords!

This was our first year with Mary Frances and it was GREAT!!! Our daughter has grown in confidence with her singing and is learning the techniques and skills.
Great vocal teacher!
Mary Frances has been my 14-yr-old daughter's vocal teacher for over two years. My daughter's voice has developed greatly--she has learned the importance of proper breathing techniques, posture, and vocal warmups. Mary Frances has helped my daughter build a solid foundation that they are building upon. My daughter thinks that Mary Frances is a very kind and caring person with a great sense of humor and really likes her.
Mary Frances is both a great vocal and piano instructor.
I have been taking vocal lessons with her for roughly 3-4 years and have learned a tremendous amount in this time. Mary Frances is an outstanding teacher as well as a spectacular classical singer!
Photos & Videos
6 Photos & VideosExperience
Vocal Instructor
Jan 1991 - PresentSelf; Music Life Studio
I've taught mainly for my private studio since 1991; I taught for Music Life Studio from about 2006 until 2013.
Education
BS in Voice with outside field in Theatre and Drama
Aug 1980 - May 1985Indiana University School of Music Bloomington, Indiana
Languages
English
Fluent / Native Proficiency
French for singing
Professional Proficiency
German for Singing
Professional Proficiency
Hebrew for singing (Transliteration)
Limited Proficiency
Italian for Singing
Professional Proficiency
Latin for singing
Professional Proficiency
Awards
Meistersinger Competiton
Jul 1993American Instute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria
Affiliations
Music Teachers National Association
Aug 2013National Association of Teachers of Singing
Aug 2013Sigma Alpha Iota (ΣΑΙ)
Aug 1980Let Our Student Counselors Help You
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