Miró Quartet with Steven Banks, saxophone

In this novel collaboration, acclaimed saxophonist Steven Banks joins one of America’s most celebrated string quartets in a program called Musical Mystics. Their Music in the Park Series program, Musical Mystics, will include the Minnesota premiere of Banks’ new work What’s Old is New for saxophone and string quartet, as well as his arrangement of Golijov’s The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, about the mystical Rabbi of Provence who eight centuries ago dictated a manuscript that foretold the future. The program opens with music by the 11th century mystic writer and composer Hildegard of Bingen, an enormously influential and spiritual woman who paved the way for women to succeed in fields from theology to music. For more than twenty-five years, the Miró Quartet has performed on the world’s most prestigious concert stages, earning accolades from critics and audiences alike. Based in Austin, TX, the Miró Quartet was the first chamber ensemble to be awarded the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant, and their most recent recording, Home, has been nominated for a 2025 GRAMMY award. As a performer and composer, saxophonist Steven Banks strives to bring his instrument to the heart of the classical music world. Banks was the first saxophonist to be awarded First Prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and in 2022 he was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. An avid chamber musician, Banks has collaborated with a number of renowned ensembles, including the Borromeo, Miró and St. Lawrence string quartets. Banks has appeared as a soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Utah Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and Aspen Festival Orchestra. He currently serves as Artist-in-Residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music.