Banfield is retired from a professorship at the Berklee College of Music in Boston but remains active
in performing, research and educational initiatives. He has composed 13
symphonies, nine operas, seven concerti, two ballets, and countless
pieces of chamber, jazz and popular music. Jazz musician Quincy Jones
signed him up to create a curriculum and text to teach popular music in
America’s public schools, one of six books the musician has written. He
cites Detroit Symphony conductor Paul Freeman and jazz trumpeter Marcus
Belgrave as mentors who helped shape his musical career and his social
views.
Banfield graduated from Detroit’s Cass Technical High School (which
boasts other celebrated alumni including singer Diana Ross, jazz
trumpeter Donald Byrd, comedienne Lily Tomlin, and automotive engineer
John DeLorean). Banfield credits the environment and the times for
sparking his musical interests.
“What draws young people to the arts is what’s inside of them and how
their environment opens them up to arts experiences,” Banfield says. “I
was living in a vibrant city at a vibrant time. We had everything from
the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to Motown.”
In the largely white world of classical music, Banfield sees
challenges, but also enormous opportunities. “The most important thing
is to recognize Black classical artists, do justice to the canon and
perform music that matters to our time,” Banfield says. There is the
composer born into slavery but recognized as the “Black Mozart”: Joseph
Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. There are contemporary artists
including Florence Price, William Grant Still, George Walker and Patrice
Rushen (whose composition Sinfonia also will be performed by the
orchestra on Jan. 28), but their contributions are often overlooked.
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