Incendio Saxophone Trio

Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

The Incendio Saxophone Trio is made up of Alexander Procajlo, Zachary Solomon and Emma Phillips. The group comprises students from Illinois High School District 230 band programs and is coached by Bryan Polacek. They placed first in the 2022 Chicago Chamber Music Competition, won second prize at the 2022 Rembrandt Chamber Competition and were finalists in the 2022 Coltman Chamber Music Competition. They were named “2022 Rembrandt Young Artists” and have performed outreach concerts throughout the Chicago area.   Alexander Procajlo is a junior at Victor J Andrew High School in Tinley Park, Illinois. He has been playing the saxophone since 2015 and has been a student of Bryan Polacek for six years. In 2022 he was named principal saxophone of the Illinois All-State Honor band and selected as a top 12 finalist for the North American Saxophone Alliance High School Solo Competition. Last year his trio was a semi-finalist at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Alex is first chair in his school’s Wind Symphony and performs in the Jazz band. Alex is a member of the National Honor Society and the Drum Major for his school’s marching band. He also plays high school volleyball and travel baseball.   Zachary Solomon has been involved in chamber music for two years. He is a member of his high school Wind Symphony and Jazz band. Zachary was first alto in ILMEA’s 2021 district festival, a semi-finalist in the 2021 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and received honorable mention at the 2021 MYA National Chamber Music Competition. He has taken masterclasses with Dr. Otis Murphy, Mr. Chris Evan Hass, Dr. Michael Holmes and the Colere Sax Quartet. Zachary is a member of the National Honor Society, is a three-sport athlete, and enjoys traveling to new and interesting places with his family.   Emma Phillips is a junior at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Illinois, where she is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta. She is also a peer tutor, and serves on several leadership teams. She regularly spends part of her summer vacations as a Band Camp Assistant for her local elementary schools. She is first chair in her school’s Wind Symphony, and also performs in the Jazz Band and Pit Orchestra. In January 2022, she performed with the ILMEA All-State Honors Band in Peoria, Illinois. She has been honing her playing skills as a student of Bryan Polacek since 2018, and looks forward to expanding her musical knowledge and performance skills.

Incendio Saxophone Trio

Conductor's Bio

Bryan Polacek is an active performer and educator. As an orchestral player, he has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Evanston Symphony Orchestra and Fundacion Sinfonia in the Dominican Republic. He was a Gold Medalist at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. His ensemble, Bicinia, received a year-long Chamber Music America Rural residency grant in Selma, Alabama. During that time, they gave over 300 performances and clinics. An advocate for new music, he has premiered works at The World Saxophone Congress and at numerous concert halls throughout the United States. Bryan has recordings on the Innova and Capstone labels. As an educator, Bryan's chamber ensembles have been featured on the nationally syndicated radio program "From the top" and WFMT program "Introductions". They have won first prize at The Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition, Discover National Chamber Competition and Barnett Chamber Music Competition. His private lesson students have been finalists at the National High School Saxophone competition, sat principal in the honor band at Illinois all-state, performed in the All-Illinois Junior Band, won numerous concerto competitions and consistently received superiors at state and local contests. Bryan's students have been scholarship recipients at major music conservatories and universities throughout the USA.

Additional Directors

Mark Iwinski