Fry Street Quartet Closes 20th Anniversary Season With Special Celebration Concert

LOGAN — As one of Utah State University’s most recognized artistic endeavors, the Fry Street Quartet’s residency is a unique and distinguishing element of the Caine College of the Arts. Since the arrival of the quartet in 2002, it has enriched the cultural fabric of the USU and Cache Valley communities in many ways.

“From my first visits to Logan, it was clear that the quartet held a special place in this community, and that the CCA String Program was like a family,” Brad Ottesen, violist in the quartet, said. “It was something I was excited to become a part of. It was also evident that this community had a special passion for chamber music.”

While the Fry Street Quartet’s performance schedule takes them around the country and world to perform, the performances closer to home in USU’s Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall are inspirations to community members and students alike. The quartet has presented cycles of the complete works of Bartok and Beethoven to sold out audiences, as well as premieres of commissioned works by a wide range of living composers. The quartet’s interest in expanding the role of the arts in society has led them to embark on groundbreaking new projects, including Rising Tide: The Crossroads Project and the groundbreaking chamber opera As One, all from their home in the CCA.

“I’m so proud of the many new works and creative projects that have involved the FSQ,” Ottesen said. “Some of our larger projects have gone far beyond the traditional role of the string quartet. The Crossroads Project merges science and art in an exploration of the sustainability crisis and has been a major part of our lives over the last 10 years. As One is the coming-of-age story of a transgender protagonist and received some of its formative workshopping here at USU and has gone on to performances around the world.”

Ottesen noted that these special projects fit in well with the adventurous spirit of the FSQ. They are always looking to explore new facets of the string quartet genre and to provide unique learning opportunities for their students in the CCA.

The FSQ’s embrace of the string quartet residency model has allowed them to cultivate a unique synthesis of teaching, mentoring and performing, which offers students in the string program an experience found at only a handful of other schools around the country. In 2012, a generous endowment from the Caine-Russell family ensured that this model would continue to be woven into the CCA’s future.

Interim Dean of the CCA Nicholas Morrison said the opportunity to work with a quartet who are not only stellar performing artists, but also energetic and committed teachers, has transformed the educational experience of hundreds of students over the last 20 years.

“We are grateful to our Fry Street Quartet colleagues and to Dan C. and Manon Caine Russell who endowed the quartet residency at USU for their vision in creating and sustaining one of the finest string programs anywhere,” Morrison said. “As we celebrate this important anniversary, we look forward to even greater things to come.”

While noting the rarity of a string quartet in residence at a university, Cindy Dewey, head of the Department of Music, said USU students are in an enviable position.

“For these string professionals to be absolutely dedicated to excellence in teaching is indeed special,” Dewey said. “Our students learn through observation of the quartet’s fine performances and through direct and generous instruction by these extraordinary professionals. The USU Music Department congratulates the Fry Street Quartet on 20 years of excellence on the stage, in the classroom and in the studio.”

USU Strings and Alumni will perform with the Fry Street Quartet for the last concert of the 20th anniversary season this Saturday.

The concert also features a commission for chamber orchestra by lauded young composer and USU string program graduate Stephen Mitton. Mitton has written socially and environmentally conscious music for a wide variety of genres and has received numerous awards.

The chamber orchestra portion of the concert will be conducted by Utah Symphony Principal Violist Brant Bayless, who came to USU with the Arcata String Quartet, who inaugurated the string quartet residency in the CCA. The concert will begin at 2 p.m. April 8 in the Daines Concert Hall and will also be livestreamed on the CCA YouTube channel, @cainecollegeofthearts.

“We’re so touched and thrilled to be joined by so many of our alumni on stage and in the audience for Saturday’s event,” said Rebecca McFaul, founding member and violinist of the quartet. “It’s an incredible thing for us to step back and think about our 20 years of work in this wonderful community we call home, and to see, hear, and celebrate our ever-expanding community of USU musicians.”

McFaul called the quartet extremely grateful for all of it.

“The Fry Street Quartet has become one of the crown jewels of USU and the Caine College of the Arts,” Craig Jessop, founding dean of the college, said. “Congratulations and thank you for 20 incredible years of service to music and to the arts at USU.”

For more information and tickets to the 20th Anniversary Celebration, contact the CCA Box Office in room L101 of the Chase Fine Arts Center on USU’s campus, call 435-797-8022, or go online to cca.usu.edu.