The ARTIST SERIES CONCERTS OF SARASOTA Host Saxophonist Steve Banks and Pianist Xak Bjerken

The Artist Series Concerts will present classical saxophonist Steven Banks in recital with Xak Bjerken, piano, Sunday, March 27th at 4:00 pm at Temple Sinai, 4631 South Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota. The program will include works by Brahms, Paul Creston, Fernande Decruck and a suite of original works composed by Banks himself. Tickets are $40 and are available online by clicking here or by calling 941-306-1202.

Recognized for his "glowing mahogany tone" (Seen and Heard International) and "breathtaking" (Classical Voice of NC) performances, American classical saxophonist Steven Banks "is at the forefront of musicians of his generation in his display of the highest level of both artistry and pedagogy." (Taimur Sullivan, Professor of Saxophone, Northwestern University)

Steven Banks is the first saxophonist to earn a place on the Young Concert Artists roster in its 59-year history, capturing First Prize at the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions as well as the special Korean Concert Society Prize (for support of his Kennedy Center debut), Buffalo Chamber Music Society Prize, Saint Vincent College Concert Series Prize, Sinfonia Gulf Coast Prize, Tannery Pond Concerts Prize, Usedom Music Festival Prize, and Washington Performing Arts Prize.

Mr. Banks has an ongoing relationship with The Cleveland Orchestra, having performed with the legendary ensemble in Severance Hall, Carnegie Hall, and at the Blossom Music Center. He has worked with notable conductors including Franz Welser-Most, Jahja Ling, Matthias Pintscher, Alain Altinoglu, and Roderick Cox.

As a jazz saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist, Banks has performed alongside members and former members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Buddy Rich Big Band, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, among others. He has played on professionally-released recordings, including Michael Spiro and Wayne Wallace's album, Canto America, which was nominated for a 2017 GRAMMY award.

Banks is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in music education, performance, and newly commissioned works in the classical realm. He gave a talk at the TEDxNorthwesternU 2017 conference with ideas about how to create change in institutionalized prejudices against women and people of color. Since the talk, Banks has written an article for WQXR and given guest lectures on the history of black classical composers. Banks serves as a member of the first Committee on the Status of Women for the North American Saxophone Alliance, and is proud to have been selected as a member of the jury for the first Female Saxophonist Competition.

Pianist Xak Bjerken has appeared with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, the Schoenberg Ensemble, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Disney Hall. He has performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Glinka Hall in St Petersburg, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, and for many years performed throughout the US as a member of the Los Angeles Piano Quartet. He has performed with the Cuarteto Casals, the Prazak, Chiaroscuro, New Zealand, and Miami string quartets, and held chamber music residencies at the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival and Olympic Music Festival. He is the director of Ensemble X, a new music ensemble, and has served on the faculty of Kneisel Hall, the Eastern Music Festival, and at the Chamber Music Conference at Bennington College.

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