About Kenari
Applauded for their “flat-out amazing” performances and “stunning virtuosity” (Cleveland Classical), the highly acclaimed Kenari Quartet delivers inspiring performances that transform the perception of the saxophone. The quartet aims to highlight the instrument’s remarkable versatility by presenting meticulously crafted repertoire from all periods of classical and contemporary music. The Kenari Quartet is represented by Jean Schreiber Management.
Our Mission
The Kenari Quartet is committed to reshaping the image of the saxophone through progressive projects and collaborations, and engaging with an extensive array of music spanning the collective passions of the ensemble members.
The Members of Kenari Quartet
Bob Eason
Corey Dundee
Steven Banks
Hailed by Fanfare magazine for his “exceptional feel for elegance, wit… and tonal beauty,” Dr. Bob Eason is an East Texas-based saxophonist, music educator, and clinician. Having recently performed as a guest artist with Chongqing Saxophone Workshop in Chongqing, China, Bob actively concertizes as a soloist and chamber musician. Bob is the founder of the Young Saxophonist’s Institute, an organization of summer programs that has educated over 700 saxophonists since its beginning in 2007. Bob holds a graduate degrees in saxophone performance from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Houston, and his primary teachers include Otis Murphy, Dan Gelok, Valerie Vidal, Karen Wylie, Chris Patterson, and Theron Sharp.
Kyle Baldwin
Kyle Baldwin is a saxophonist and educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the summer of 2016, Kyle graduated from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a bachelor’s degree in music performance. There he studied with Dr. Otis Murphy and Professor Tom Walsh. Originally from Fresno, California, he has also studied with Dr. Alan Durst at Fresno State University and Professor Larry Honda at Fresno City College. He is a recipient of the Premier Young Artist Award Scholarship, a very honorable award given in the Jacobs School of Music, as well as the Marcel Mule Scholarship. In addition to his music career, Kyle is also making an impact as an academic success coach, where he helps students navigate their educational journeys, offering guidance and support to help them achieve their academic goals.
Los Angeles-based composer and saxophonist Corey Dundee composes music he describes as “rhythmic ridiculousness written in a quasi-atonal yet esoterically functional harmonic language.” Critics have essentially said as much in far less flowery English, characterizing his sonic aesthetic as “trippy dream music” (casual university acquaintance) and“falling down a black rabbit hole” (six-year-old concert-goer in Norfolk, CT). Recently awarded a fellowship to attend the Susan and Ford Schumann Center for Composition Studies at the 2022 Aspen Music Festival, Corey is also a recipient of Chamber Music America's coveted Classical Commissioning Grant, and he was named Honorable Mention for MTNA’s Distinguished Composer of the Year award in 2018.
As a performer and composer, saxophonist Steven Banks is striving to bring his instrument to the heart of the classical music world. He is driven to programme and write music that directly addresses aspects of the human experience and is a devoted and intentional supporter of diverse voices in the future of concert music. Rick Perdian of ‘Seen and Heard International’ said, “Banks has the potential to be one of the transformational musicians of the twenty-first century.” Banks was the first saxophonist to be awarded both the Avery Fisher Career Grant and the First Prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. He serves as Saxophone and Chamber Music Faculty and Artist-in-Residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music, founding the saxophone program having been appointed as the first saxophone teacher at conservatory level.