Skip to Content

Music

Search UTC.edu:

Campus & People

Resources:

Dr. Erika Schafer

Office: Fine Arts Center 104
Email: Erika-Schafer@utc.edu
Phone: (423) 425-4641
Webpage: http://utc.edu/Erika-Schafer/index.htm

Lecturer

Instructor for Applied Trumpet
Director:
  • Jazz Ensemble
  • Trumpet Ensemble
Other responsibilities:
  • Assistant Director of Bands
Education:
  • D.M.A. Trumpet Performance, The Catholic University of America
  • M.M. Trumpet Performance, Yale University
  • B.M. Music Education, The University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Dr. Schafer is beginning her second year as Assistant Director of Bands and Trumpet Instructor at UTC. She runs the trumpet studio, directs the Jazz Band and Trumpet Ensemble, and is the Assistant Director of the Marching Band, Pep Band, and Symphonic Band. She is an active trumpeter in the Chattanooga area, having performed in the Chattanooga Jazz Festival and with the Chattanooga Bach Choir Orchestra. She has also been a frequent guest clinician throughout Tennessee. This past year, she directed the second All Middle Tennessee High School Jazz Band and was also the brass clinician for the Cannon County Festival of Arts. Highlights of her first year at UTC include hosting Jeff Coffin, saxophonist with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and his Mu'tet as guest artists and the performance of the Trumpet Ensemble at the Tennessee Music Educators Association Convention in Nashville. She also accompanied the Pep Band on an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Prior to her position at UTC, Dr. Schafer was a member of the United States Navy Band in Washington, D.C. where she was a featured soloist and also performed with several chamber ensembles including the U.S. Navy Band Brass Quartet and the Joint Services Brass Quintet. Furthermore, she was an active performer in other groups in the D.C. area including the McLean Symphony Orchestra and the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra among others.

Dr. Schafer is proficient on both the cornetto and baroque trumpet, having performed with such groups as the Folger Consort and the Orchestra of the 17th Century, both in Washington, D.C. Dr. Schafer has previously taught at George Mason University and Catholic University, and she was the brass instructor at South County Secondary School and Edison High School, both in Virginia. She has given recitals and masterclasses throughout the country. She is also a former student of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Her primary teachers include Chris Gekker, Allan Dean, Louis Ranger, and Walter Chesnut.