Rebecca Francis

Instrument: Violin

Becca Francis is a Sheffield born-and-bred musician, who returned to the City with her young family in 2014. After studying the violin with Nina Martin throughout her teens and spending nine years in the City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra (finishing as leader), Becca completed an undergraduate music degree at Oxford University. She then undertook a Masters in Violin Performance at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where she won the Mortimer Development Award for Innovation in the Arts and mentored undergraduate students on the Music in the Community course. 

On finishing her formal musical training Becca worked as a freelance musician in London, the highlights of which included performing with Nigel Kennedy, Elton John, and Katherine Jenkins, and delivering community projects for the London Symphony Orchestra. After teaching at the First String Experience at the Junior Royal Academy for many years, Becca decided her passion lay in teaching and embarked on a Post Graduate Certificate of Education and has been working in education ever since.

During the week Becca runs two successful Early Years music businesses: Rocking Horse Music Group (0-4 years) and Dot2Dot Music (4-6 years). She is an advocate of learning through fun and infuses her high-energy teaching with Kodaly and Dalcoze techniques. On a Saturday Becca teaches violin at the Sheffield Music Academy, as well as running the Academy Junior Choir and String Orchestra.