Bassoonist Samuel Banks joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2009. He was previously a member of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. He has enjoyed performing as a guest with the Canadian Opera Company, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
His musical journey started in California, where he started playing the bassoon in middle school. He is a proud alumnus of the University of California’s Young Musicians Program (YMP), where he studied bassoon with Cyrle Haas Perry. He graduated with honours from Northwestern University, studying bassoon with Robert Barris.
Throughout his career, he has had the privilege to work with the next generation of bassoonists. He has taught woodwind classes at the Glenn Gould School and University of Toronto, and has been a bassoon master class guest at, among others, McGill University, the Royal Conservatory of Music, Butler University, and Northwestern University. He is excited to return to IMC this summer.