Frances Johnson Darger was born November 30, 1924 to parents Edna Estelle Evans and Frank Arthur Johnson. When she was 9 years old, her mother, who was a singer, traded singing lessons for violin lessons with Melba Lindsay Burton. In 1942, as the men of the Utah Symphony Orchestra joined the armed forces, Frances auditioned for and won a seat in the orchestra. Two years later, she and her sisters moved to Hollywood to found a singing group, but they moved back to Utah after a year and she returned to playing in the orchestra. She graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in English.

Frances played with the symphony for 69 years, during its transition from a community part-time orchestra to its prestigious status today, with tours and record deals. When she retired in 2012, she held the record for the longest tenure of any symphony musician in the world.