Lori Franke is the Founder and Director of South Valley Suzuki String Academy, a private business, and President of the South Valley Suzuki Music Foundation, a non-profit organization.
With a B.A. degree in Elementary Education from Brigham Young University and a double Minor in German and Music, Lori had the privilege of studying directly under Dr. Shinichi Suzuki in Japan and has been teaching Suzuki violin for over 34 years.
She is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Antonio del Buono Elementary School in Gilroy, California, where she teaches violin students from kindergarten to fifth grade. She also teaches a Beginning Strings class at Gilroy High School and is involved in both community and professional orchestras throughout the year
Her Friendship Tour program has taken her group to England, Germany, and the Azores, Portugal
Lori lives in Gilroy with her husband, a Master Piano Builder, is the mother of five, and grandmother of five.