Growing up in Ellicott City, Maryland, Fran began taking things apart as soon as he was able to find and manipulate tools ( somewhere around the age of two), beginning with his older brother’s train-set. As Fran grew, so did his interest in how things worked, and he moved on from train sets to appliances, TV sets, and other things that would fascinate a young boy; the more “moving parts”, the better!
While in first grade, Fran developed an interest in music, and began studying piano. This expanded into studies in trumpet, trombone, and violin, eventually settling on the Tuba. Fran was extremely involved in music through junior and senior high schools, playing in Marching, Symphonic, and Jazz bands, Orchestra, and singing in Chorus and the Chamber Singers. In his "spare time", he also achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Occasionally he found time for academic subjects as well… when he had to…
In 1985, Fran came to northeast Pennsylvania as a freshman at Wilkes College, pursuing a degree in Music Education, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Tuba, with a minor in Voice. Since 1989, Fran has focused more on vocal and choral work, working as a Bass section leader for the Choral Society of Northeast Pennsylvania, and its parent organizations the Singers’ Guild of Scranton , and the Wyoming Valley Oratorio Society. Fran presently sings in the Quartet at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church , where he is the Director of Music. Additionally, Fran has enjoyed favorable acclaim in the realm of musical theatre, having appeared in some thirty stage productions at the legendary Music Box Dinner Playhouse in Swoyersville, including the roles of Petrucchio in “Kiss Me, Kate”, and Don Quioxte in “Man of La Mancha”.
Prior to joining the staff at the Scranton Cultural Center, Fran worked at the F. M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre, serving as its Technical Director for the past ten years. When not minding the machinery at the historic Masonic Temple, Fran resides in Scranton with his wife Carol, and their two cats, Kirby and Coco.
Other pursuits include: antique cars, photography with film cameras, collecting and listening to historic recordings on a variety of talking machines, and cooking - not necessarily in that order. He is often seen driving around town in “the oldest car you’ve seen all day”, usually an unrestored 1928 Ford coupe.

570-346-7369 x 116 fran@scrantonculturalcenter.org