Music Mondays: The Verona Quartet & Steven Banks, saxophone
Free (RSVP available)
- Steven Banks, saxophone
- Jonathan Ong, violin
- Dorothy Ro, violin
- Abigail Rojansky, viola
- Elizabeth Dorman, cello
Felix Mendelssohn — Frage (Ist es wahr?), Op. 9, No. 1, MWV K 39
Leoš Janáček — String Quartet No. 1 "Kreutzer Sonata"
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Oboe Quartet in F major, K. 370
Arvo Pärt — Fratres
Reena Esmail — Magan Rehna
Christopher Theofanidis — Selected works (world premiere TBA)
The "vibrant, intelligent" Verona Quartet (The New York Times) teams up with sensational young classical saxophonist Steven Banks, recent winner of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, for a diverse program that explores the various forms of love. He and the Quartet perform both separately and together, joining for the world premiere of a Music Mondays commission by Grammy-winning composer Christopher Theofanidis.
Reserving tickets: Doors open at 6:45pm for those with Eventbrite registrations. Your reservation is for general admission, so we encourage you to arrive early to secure your preferred seat. PLEASE NOTE: Guests with reservations MUST arrive no later than 7:20pm. Any seats that have not been claimed by 7:20pm will be released to the Standby Line. We cannot guarantee you a seat if you arrive after 7:20pm.
Reservations sold out? Don't worry! We have a standby line at each performance. We encourage you to line up early and we will do our best to accommodate you. It is rare that Music Mondays turns anyone away.
About Verona Quartet
Acclaimed as an "outstanding ensemble…cohesive yet full of temperament" (The New York Times), the Verona Quartet has firmly established itself amongst the most distinguished ensembles on the chamber music scene today. The group's singular sense of purpose earned them Chamber Music America's coveted 2020 Cleveland Quartet Award, and a reputation for its "bold interpretive strength, robust characterization and commanding resonance" (Calgary Herald). The Quartet serves on the faculty of the Oberlin College and Conservatory as the Quartet-in-Residence. In addition to its position at Oberlin, the Quartet recently held residencies at Nova Scotia's Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, North Carolina's Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle and the ENCORE Chamber Music Institute. As committed advocates of diverse programming, the Verona Quartet curated the UpClose Chamber Music Series on behalf of the COT, electrifying audiences with their "sensational, powerhouse performance[s]" (Classical Voice America).
http://www.veronaquartet.com/About Steven Banks, saxophone
Winner of the prestigious 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Steven Banks (b. 1993) is an ambassador for the classical saxophone, establishing himself as both a compelling and charismatic soloist, dedicated to showcasing the vast capabilities of the instrument, as well as an advocate for expanding its repertoire. Steven is also the first saxophonist to capture First Prize at the Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions (2019). He was also recently chosen to join WQXR’s 2022 Artist Propulsion Lab, a program designed to advance the careers of artists and support the future of classical music.
Steven has recently appeared as soloist with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Oregon Mozart Players, Colorado Music Festival, Colorado Symphony, Utah Symphony, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and on subscription with the Cleveland Orchestra, performing with such conductors as John Adams, Peter Oundjian, Earl Lee, Xian Zhang, Nicholas McGegan, and Rafael Payere. Upcoming orchestral engagements include the Kansas City Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Detroit Symphony, New World Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra.
Steven is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in music education, performance, and newly commissioned works in the classical realm. He presented at the TEDxNorthwesternU 2017 conference presenting his dynamic approach to overcoming institutionalized prejudices against women and people of color, and he has written and given lectures on the history of black classical composers. He also collaborated with flutist Anthony Trionfo and violinist Randall Goosby to create the Learning to Listen roundtable, a discussion on the nuances of the Black experience in classical music and beyond. In partnership with the Sphinx Organization, they also created the Illuminate! series, which opened three essential conversations on the subject of music education, artist activism, and the LGBTQIA+ community in classical music.
Steven has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Saxophone Performance with a minor in Jazz Studies from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and Master of Music degree from the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music.
http://steven-banks.com/