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, Boston Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic under the leadership of conductors including Stéphane Denève, Manfred Honeck, and Xian Zhang. A champion of new music, Banks has premiered and toured new concertos by GRAMMY®-winners Billy Childs and Joan Tower with co-commissioners including NSO Washington, Colorado Symphony, and Indianapolis Symphony. His own compositions, including 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, launching the Come As You Are initiative to increase representation in the concert hall. He serves on the Conservatory Saxophone and Chamber Music Faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music and will join the University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ School of Music as saxophone instructor next season.