We invite you to attend the opening concert for the 2023-2024 Concert Series for The Artist Series of Tallahassee, featuring Borromeo String Quartet with Steven Banks, saxophone at Opperman Hall. Also available as livestream and video on our website, www.theartistseries.org!
As a performer and composer, saxophonist Steven Banks is striving to bring his instrument to the heart of the classical music world. He is driven to program and write music that directly addresses aspects of the human experience and is an active and intentional supporter of diverse voices in the future of concert music. Banks is establishing himself as a compelling and charismatic soloist, and in 2022, he was
awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and was a chosen artist for WQXR’s Artist Propulsion Lab. He was the first saxophonist to be awarded First Prize at the Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions. Critics have consistently recognized Banks for his warm yet glowing tone, well-crafted and communicative musical expression, and deft technical abilities. Banks serves as a
visiting faculty member at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He was previously Assistant Professor of Saxophone at both Ithaca College and the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, and held the Jackie McLean Fellowship at the University of Hartford. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, as well as a Master of Music degree from the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music.

Each visionary performance of the award-winning Borromeo String Quartet strengthens and deepens its reputation as one of the most important ensembles of our time. Admired and sought after for their fresh interpretations of the classical music canon, the ensemble has been hailed for its “edge-of-the-seat performances" by the Boston Globe. As passionate educators, they encourage audiences of all ages to explore and listen to both traditional and contemporary repertoire in new ways. The BSQ has been ensemble-in-residence at the New England Conservatory and Taos School of Music, both for 25 years, and has, for over two decades, enjoyed a long-term relationship with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where it continues to appear regularly. It is quartet-in-residence at the Heifetz International Music Institute, where first violinist Nicholas Kitchen is Artistic Director. The quartet was also in residence at, and has worked extensively as performers and educators with, the Library of Congress and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
To see program selections and more information, go to our Program e-flipbook, available here: https://www.theartistseries.org/current-season/. Scroll down and click on the Season Program link.