Bradley Ottesen

Bradley Ottesen is the violist of the internationally acclaimed Fry Street Quartet. He holds the position of Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Utah State University, and currently serves as the President of the Utah Viola Society. 
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. 
The FSQ 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 25 times in 3 countries, and have involved visual artists, filmmakers, actors, and composers. In recent seasons, the quartet has been involved with the creation of new works by composers Laura Kaminsky, Michael Ellison, Clarice Assad, and Libby Larsen. 
 
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 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.