Frank Wiley is active as a composer, conductor, visual artist, and teacher.

He is an emeritus faculty member of the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music at Kent State University, where he taught courses in composition, music theory, and music history. He was Co-Director and Conductor of the Kent State University New Music Ensemble, which he founded in 1979. For 14 years he also served as Director of the Kent State University Orchestra. He is a winner of the Kent State University Distinguished Teaching Award. He joined the faculty of Kent State University in 1979, after teaching at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington from 1976 to 1979.

His compositions, which include solo instrumental, chamber, orchestral, vocal, choral, and electronic music, have been performed throughout the United States, as well as in Europe and the Far East, by numerous soloists and ensembles. He has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards for his work as a composer. He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the Cleveland Composers Guild. His music is published by Acoma Editions, Ludwig Music Publishing Co., Hinshaw Music, and C. Alan Publications, and is recorded on AMP Recordings, Albany Records, Centaur Records, Truemedia Records, Peppermint Records, and Kentuckiana Recordings.

He is active as a conductor of chamber, orchestral, vocal, and choral ensembles, with an emphasis on new music. Other areas of expertise include early music and opera. He is Director of Music at the United Methodist Church of Kent, Ohio.

His work as a visual artist focuses on photography and photographically based digital images. While some of the images are made using traditional photographic methods, many are abstractions emphasizing form and color, created using a combination of traditional techniques and digital imaging techniques.

His early studies in organ and harpsichord were with Ronald W. Davis. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance and his Master of Music degree in Composition at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he studied organ with Rudolph Kremer and composition with Roger Hannay. His holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Composition from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University, where his principal teacher was Donald Erb. He also studied orchestral conducting with Thomas Briccetti.

He lives in the village of Brady Lake, Ohio, with his wife, Patricia. Their daughter, Alison, lives in the Dallas, Texas area.