Steven Banks

Saxophonist and composer Steven Banks is a “transformational musician” dedicated to bringing the saxophone to the forefront of the classical world. A recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Banks made history as the first saxophonist to win First Prize at the Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions. As a soloist, he has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, and Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra under conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst and John Adams. A champion of new music, Banks recently premiered a major concerto by Billy Childs, co-commissioned by a ten-partner consortium including the National Symphony Orchestra. His own compositions, including the Carnegie Hall-premiered Cries, Sighs and Dreams, are praised for their intimacy and vulnerability. A founding member of the award-winning Kenari Quartet, Banks is also a tireless advocate for diversity and inclusion, co-creating the Learning to Listen roundtable and the Illuminate! series. He currently serves on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music and holds degrees from Indiana University and Northwestern University.