Billy Childs premieres saxophone concerto with Kansas City Symphony

USC Thornton Composition program alumnus Billy Childs (BM ‘79) premiered his saxophone concerto with the Kansas City Symphony on Feb. 10. The concerto was conducted by Ruth Reinhardt and performed by saxophonist Steven Banks, as well as co-commissioned by nine major American orchestras including Kansas City Symphony. According to Classical Kansas City, Childs drew inspiration from poets Nayyirah Waheed, Claude McKay and Maya Angelou to form the arc of the piece, which follows the past, present and future of the Black experience.