Fry Street Quartet concert honors Caine family generosity, impact
February 10th, 2013 Posted in Arts and LifeLOGAN—It’s been 10 years since the Fry Street Quartet first came to Cache Valley, and the classical musicians performed a concert Thursday to honor some their greatest benefactors—Dan C. and Manon Caine Russell.
“Without the support of Dan and Manon, the culturally rich environment of Cache Valley, which we all enjoy, would be a very different place, as would the college that was named for their family,” said Craig Jessop, dean of the Caine College of the Arts. “We are most grateful.”
The Fry Street Quartet teaches USU students and performed here and worldwide. Courtesy, FSQ
The new Dan C. and Manon Caine Russell Resident Quartet Endowment will provide a means for current and future students to take USU’s already nationally renowned music department to the next level.
It is the latest of many contributions made to the university by the Caine family, for which several parts of campus are named. The Caine College of the Arts, as well as the Manon Caine Russell Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall and Caine Lyric Theatre in downtown Logan, reflect some of the family’s gifts, as well as the Marie Eccles Caine Charitable Foundation, set up in 1981.
“It would be difficult to find someone in Cache Valley whose life has not been touched, in fact significantly enhanced, in some way by the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation and Russell family under the leadership of Dan and Manon,” said Utah State President Stan Albrecht.
The Caine Foundation is a primary provider of scholarships within the Caine College, and contributes financial help to programs and for the construction of buildings.
On Thursday, the beneficiaries of the Caine Family’s generosity were both on stage and in the audience as the Fry Street Quartet provided the main attraction for the sold-out festivities, which left several dozen attendees viewing the performance through a live video feed in the lobby.
Made up of Bradley Ottesen, Anne Francis, William Robert Waters and Rebecca McFaul, the quartet accepted an invitation from the Caine Foundation to come to Logan in 2002 as professionals in-residence, teaching and performing more more than a decade. (Click here for samples of the Fry Street Quartet’s performances.)
The quartet has helped increase the number of students majoring in string music from a handful to more than 40, but members of the group deflect praise and credit.
“The growth of the string program is a credit to the sustained interest and support of Dan and Manon, the leadership of the university and the Caine College of the Arts, and the character of the young people who have come to study here,” Ottesen said.
The quartet has won numerous awards at the state and national levels, and has appeared at national venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York City and made several trips outside the country – including Austria and Israel.
TP
Tags: Caine College of the Arts, Fry Street Quartet, Manon Caine Russell
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