Lewis Banks

Lewis is a Scottish saxophonist praised by The Herald for his “virtuosity and blinding characterisation”. Winner of the Sussex prize at the Royal Overseas League Music Competition in London, Lewis has gained a reputation as an exciting soloist who thrives on traversing genre borders.

As a soloist, Lewis gave the world premiere of the soprano saxophone concerto Rewired by Scottish composer Jay Capperauld with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 2025, and has recently premiered new concerti by composers Electra Perivolaris and Courtney Bryan with the Glasgow Barons. Other solo appearances include performances of John Williams’ Escapades (2024) and Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da Camera (2016), both with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the UK premiere of the orchestral arrangement of Santiago Baez’s L’Arlesienne Fantasy Concerto in 2018.

Lewis has commissioned around 2 hours of new music for the saxophone in solo projects ranging from Afterlife (2019), Chrysalis (2021) and Rewired (2025), expanding the repertoire of the saxophone through innovative cross-genre projects.

As an orchestral saxophonist, he is a frequent guest with leading ensembles including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Scottish Opera, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and Hebrides Ensemble.

Lewis serves as a saxophone lecturer at the University of Aberdeen and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he is also Co-Director of the annual Saxophone Summer School. Additionally, he has delivered guest masterclasses and examined at institutions including Chetham’s School of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music and St Mary’s Music School.

He was previously educated at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he won most of the major performance prizes, achieved the highest attainable final examination marks in both his Bachelor and Master’s degree recitals and was awarded the Principal’s Prize for Excellence upon graduation.

Alongside his musical career, Lewis is studying for a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) at the University of Glasgow.