Internationally renowned saxophonist Steven Banks visited Rock Island High School to invite students to his upcoming performance of Diaspora by Billy Childs with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO). His visit was part of his Come As You Are initiative, presented in partnership with the QCSO to invite students, teachers, and families into the concert hall through a special free ticket offer.
Photo Credit: Evan Sammons
Banks began his presentation with his own composition, Salleras Variation, which he told students he wrote to challenge himself as a performer. The piece, a virtuosic encore work, immediately captured the audience’s attention.
“After the first performance, students were hanging on every word he had to say,” said Chelsea Sammons, QCSO Director of Education & Community Engagement. “His mastery of the saxophone and his immediate desire to connect with students made him one of the most welcoming and inspiring guest artists we’ve had visit a school.”
Students from the Rock Island High School band, orchestra, and choir departments, along with members of the Cultural Diversity Club led by Ayola Vesey, participated in the event. The Come As You Are (CAYA) initiative blends performance and storytelling to “shift the concert experience beyond its traditional audience base, ensuring that Black and other marginalized communities are not only represented on stage but also feel welcomed in the hall,” according to its mission statement.
Photo Credit: Evan Sammons
During the presentation on Friday, November 7, Banks previewed themes from Diaspora by Billy Childs, performing melodies from each movement and relating them to the poems that inspired the work. He explained how each movement reflects a chapter in the story of the African Diaspora and the Black experience in America, weaving in personal stories about the creative process.
Banks also shared that the project began when he wrote Childs a letter “old school style,” asking him to compose a new work for saxophone and orchestra. Together, they selected poems that guided the thematic development of Diaspora, shaping it into a powerful musical narrative that begins before the forced enslavement of West Africans and concludes with the empowerment of Black Americans today.
“The tone and control and simply put, incredible virtuosity of Steven’s saxophone playing is unparalleled,” said QCSO Executive Director Brian Baxter. “When you combine that with his humble and deeply felt approach to storytelling and connecting people through music, it is truly remarkable. We were honored to bring him to the Quad Cities!”
Every student who attended the presentation received four complimentary tickets to Masterworks II: Diaspora on November 8 & 9, personally invited by Banks through the QCSO’s Students @ Symphony program. His visit was part of the QCSO’s Musicians in Schools initiative, which offers free musician visits to classrooms throughout the school year.
Photo Credit: Evan Sammons
To celebrate the Quad Cities premiere of Diaspora, the QCSO also commissioned a new poem, My Hometown, written by Zakyia Dade, a Bettendorf High School student and participant in the Young Lions Roar program. The initiative “nurtures the voices of youth” through after-school poetry workshops and creative opportunities across the region.
The QCSO extends its gratitude to Rock Island High School administrators and faculty, and to Ayola Vesey and the Cultural Diversity Club for their partnership and support in bringing this impactful experience to students.