Hailed as a “triumph of ensemble playing” (New York Times), the Fry Street Quartet has perfected a “blend of technical precision and scorching spontaneity” (Strad Magazine). The FSQ is the endowed Quartet-in-Residence at the Caine College of the Arts, Utah State University, and maintains a busy concertizing schedule alongside their dedicated teaching career.
In recent seasons, the FSQ has commissioned and premiered new works by composers Laura Kaminsky, Michael Ellison, Clarice Assad, and Libby Larsen. The quartet has recently launched several groundbreaking collaborations exploring the role of the arts in social discourse. The Crossroads Project is an ongoing partnership with physicist and educator Robert Davies, a meditation on environmental sustainability. Crossroads productions have been staged more than 30 times in 3 countries, and have involved visual artists, filmmakers, actors, and composers.
Prior to joining the Fry Street Quartet, Bradley was the Assistant Principal Violist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra in Alberta, Canada. His early orchestral career included extensive training with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, New World Symphony, and the Tanglewood Music Center, performing under the batons of Pierre Boulez, Seiji Ozawa, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Daniel Barenboim.
Mr. Ottesen began his studies at the renowned Preucil School of Music in Iowa City, IA. He has earned degrees from Northwestern University and the New England Conservatory, and his principal teachers have included William Preucil, James Dunham, and Peter Slowik, with further mentorship from Eric Rosenblith, Bernard Greenhouse, and members of the Juilliard, Muir, and Cleveland string quartets.
Bradley performs on two contemporary violas commissioned by Peter and Wendy Moes of Peissenberg, Germany and Hiroshi Iizuka of Philadelphia, USA, and a bow by Pierre Simon of 1865.
Recital Program and Master Class participants/repetoire tba.
Mr Ottesen's visit to to the Penn State campus is supported in part by the Lederer fund and hosted by the Penn State Viola Society.