The Estrella Consort is a saxophone quartet committed to the performance of exciting works, both old and new. Founded in 2010 while its members were pursuing graduate degrees at Arizona State University, the group has performed and presented educational workshops and clinics throughout the United States and abroad. The group’s first major tour took them through several cities in Ecuador as part of a cultural exchange in 2011. In the years since, the Estrella Consort has presented guest artist recitals and workshops at numerous institutions, including Northwestern University, Arizona State University, the University of Michigan, the University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University, and many others.

The Estrella Consort presents thoughtful and exploratory performances of saxophone quartet repertoire, ranging from French classics to transcriptions and works of living composers of our time. The group has premiered works by such composers as Elliot Miles McKinley, Robert Reinhart, Kevin Day, and many others. They have also frequently collaborated with young composers and saxophonists to expand the repertoire for saxophone quartets.

Patrick Murphy previously served on the faculty of the Crane School of Music, State University of New York, College at Potsdam. He completed his doctorate from Arizona State University in 2013, and holds degrees from The University of Michigan, and the Crane School of Music. He has studied saxophone with Timothy McAllister, Donald Sinta, and Eric Lau and composition with David Heinick. He has performed throughout North and South America with tours spanning Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Arizona, Ecuador and Peru. He has performed with the Chicago Symphony, New World Symphony, Orchestra of Northern New York, Orquesta Sinfonica de Trujillo, and the Northern Symphonic Winds. A devoted arts administrator, he was on the opening of the Musical Instrument Museum and now serves as Director of Concert Operations for Scottsdale’s Arizona Musicfest.

Jeff Siegfried’s career spans a bold and eclectic range of artistic and intellectual pursuits—from concert saxophone to musicological scholarship, composition, jazz fusion, free improvisation, ragtime, klezmer, and beyond. Known for his “rich, vibrant tone” (South Florida Classical Review) and “beautiful and delicate playing” (Michael Tilson Thomas), Siegfried is a compelling performer who delivers “showstopper performances” (Peninsula Reviews). His saxophone sextet, The Moanin’ Frogs, maintains an active international touring schedule. Aporii, his duo with saxophonist Doug O’Connor, commissions living composers.

He also co-composes and performs collaboratively with composer-pianist Sean Friar in a duo devoted to entirely new works created by the two. As a soloist, Siegfried has appeared with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” and the Northwestern University Contemporary Music Ensemble. He has performed as an orchestral saxophonist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. Siegfried holds master’s degrees in saxophone performance and musicology from Northwestern University and a doctorate in saxophone performance from the University of Michigan. He is a Selmer Artist-Clinician and performs exclusively on Selmer Paris saxophones and mouthpieces. Siegfried currently serves as Assistant Professor of Saxophone at West Virginia University.

Dr. Allison Adams is Professor of Saxophone at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and co-author of the method book, Playing and Teaching the Saxophone: A Modern Approach (Oxford University Press, 2023). Her solo album, Flames Will Grow (Albany Records, 2024), is available on all major music streaming platforms. An avid performer, Adams has been a featured concerto soloist at the Big Ears Festival and the International Saxophone Festival Bellas Artes Cali in Colombia. She is also a frequent performer with the Knoxville Symphony and at events such as the World Saxophone Congress, the International Saxophone Symposium, and the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference. In addition to her work as a teacher and performer, her research centers around performance injuries and the integration of yoga into music performance. A chapter on her recovery from focal dystonia is available in the collection Notes of Hope (Mountain Peak Music).

Allison Adams is a Selmer and D’Addario Artist. Find her online at allisondadams.com.

Thomas Snydacker, a concert saxophonist and educator based in Chicago, has been praised for his “plush tone” (South Florida Classical Review) and his “stunning tour-de-force” and “thoroughly compelling” performances (Chicago Classical Review). He is a member of the Chicago Philharmonic and frequently appears as an orchestral musician with world-class ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Milwaukee Symphony, and others under the batons of such luminaries as John Adams, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas, Susanna Mälkki, Marin Alsop, Stéphane Denève, and Matthias Pintscher. His festival appearances as an orchestral musician include the Ravinia Festival, the Grant Park Music Festival, and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. A tireless advocate for new music, Snydacker has a list of well over 50 premieres to his credit. Snydacker teaches at Northern Illinois University and Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of the Performing Arts, where he is also the Program Director of Woodwinds.