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.