Cellist Anne Francis Bayless has been a member of the internationally acclaimed Fry Street Quartet since 2000. Performing both the masterpieces of the classical canon and new works from visionary contemporary composers, the FSQ has honed a “blend of technical precision and scorching spontaneity” (The Strad). Since claiming the Grand Prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the quartet has captivated audiences worldwide, from New York to London, Sarajevo, and Jerusalem, pushing the boundaries of the string quartet with “profound understanding…depth of expression, and stunning technical astuteness” (Deseret Morning News). The quartet’s touring history includes appearances at prestigious venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall, The New School, and Rockefeller University in New York, Guarneri Hall and the Jewel Box Series in Chicago, Chamber Music Columbus, the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, The Theosophical Society in London, the Mozart Gemeinde in Klagenfurt, Austria, and China’s Fujian Grand Theatre, Xiaoshan Grand Theatre, and Shanghai Oriental Art Center. They also enjoy an ongoing residency with the Salt Lake City-based NOVA series, where they serve as Artistic Partners and Quartet-in-Residence.
The Fry Street Quartet has amassed a significant catalog of commissioned works by diverse composers, many contributing to a growing collection of compositions focused on the sustainability crisis and nature. Premieres in the last two seasons include works by Gabriela Lena Frank, Laura Kaminsky, Nicolás Lell Benavides, Aakash Mittal, Hitomi Oba, Aida Shirazi, and Akshaya Tucker. Kaminsky’s Rising Tide and Libby Larsen’s Emergence were both commissioned for the quartet’s global sustainability initiative The Crossroads Project.
The quartet’s diverse discography features works by Beethoven, Haydn, Janáček, Rorem, and Stravinsky, and recent recordings include The Crossroads Project on Navona Records and the acclaimed chamber opera As One, released on Albany Records. Canções da America, composed for the FSQ by Clarice Assad, was released in video format by Chicago’s innovative Guarneri Hall, and an album of commissioned works by Benavides, Frank, and Kaminsky is slated for release in 2026.
Growing up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Anne’s love for chamber music began early, when she performed in her first string quartet at the age of eight. Mentored by wonderful teachers, coaches, and conductors, Anne credits her formative development as a musician to the vibrant musical community of her childhood. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of Richard Aaron and Alan Harris, and spent summers at the Center for Advanced Quartet Studies at the Aspen Music Festival and School, as well as the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall. She became assistant to Cleveland Quartet cellist Paul Katz at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music while earning her Master of Music degree, and joined the Fry Street Quartet soon afterwards. Other important mentors include Grace Field, Bernard Greenhouse, Bonnie Hampton, and Bruce Uchimura, as well as members of the Cavani, Cleveland, Emerson, Juilliard, and Orion Quartets.
Anne teaches cello and chamber music at Utah State University, where the Fry Street Quartet holds the Dan C. and Manon Caine Russell endowed string quartet residency. Anne is married to Utah Symphony principal violist Brant Bayless, and the couple resides in Logan and Salt Lake City with their two young sons. She performs on a cello by Andrea Guarneri made in 1689, generously on loan to her from a private foundation.
