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About Me

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). Snydacker teaches at  91��ý’s Chicago College of the Performing Arts, where he is also the Program Director of Woodwinds. 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.

Snydacker is a tireless advocate for new music and has a list of well over 50 premieres to his credit, including works by  John Anthony Lennon, Roger Boutry, Carolyn O'Brien, Dave Reminick, Chris Fisher-Lochhead, Zae Munn, and many others. He is the baritone saxophonist in the acclaimed saxophone quartet, the Estrella Consort. This group presents concerts of music both new and old to audiences throughout the country and abroad, including a recent tour in Ecuador and a residency at the Alba Music Festival in Alba, Italy. Their first album, Glow, is forthcoming on the Soundset label. Snydacker also frequently performs and records with new music supergroup Ensemble Dal Niente.

As an educator, Snydacker carries nearly two decades of experience, with students covering a broad spectrum of age and ability levels. In addition to his duties on the faculty of CCPA, he teaches at the Northern Illinois University School of Music. He has previously served on the faculties of the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, the University of Illinois – Chicago, and North Central College. He has presented talks about the saxophone and various other topics to music students at the University of Cuenca and Columbia College Chicago, the Claremont Colleges, and the University of Michigan, among other institutions. He has given masterclasses for students of a wide range of age and abilities throughout the country and abroad including the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, Arizona State University, Vanderbilt University, Western Michigan University, and many others.

Snydacker holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from Northwestern University, where his research focused on spectralism in the saxophone repertoire. He earned a Master of Music from Arizona State University under the guidance of  and a Bachelor of Music in saxophone performance from the University of Minnesota, where he studied with the esteemed saxophonist and pedagogue Eugene Rousseau.