Beth Schafer Project

At the age of 3 I started gravitating toward musical toys. Once my grandmother bought me my first toy guitar I was hooked. After a multi-year begging campaign my parents finally started me in guitar lessons when I was 6. I've never looked back.

My first teacher was a Portugese classical player so that is the style I learned first. But it was the 70's and I wanted to play like my guitar heroes: Eric Clapton (who has since fallen out of favor),  Robert Plant, BB King, George Benson, Al Dimeloa, and later, James Taylor and Melissa Etheridge. I moved on from nylon string to play steel string and electric guitar. As I entered High School opportunities to play jazz were exciting. I changed teachers and tried out for and won the guitar spot in all-shore, regional  and even some college jazz bands and loved playing big band music. I was often the only woman in the band and took it as a point of pride to "represent" in these ensembles.

I also loved writing music. My aspirations to be a film composer began in High School. It became clear that some sort of career in music was my calling. I earned a Bachelor of Music in Theory and Composition from University of Miami's School of Music. My principle instrument was classical and jazz guitar. Most of the music I wrote during that period was experimental 20th century and cinematic music. Guitar driven music was a sideline.

In the 80s I became acquainted with computers and began using them to notate and compose music. MOTU's Pro Composer and Performer (before it became Digital Performer) were my earliest tools. I was also a beta tester for the now-defunct Finale.

Out of college I worked at Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts running a computer lab and designing their interactive media degree program. I also did some sound design for corporate clients video and CD-ROM projects. When I left Full Sail, I ran my own interactive media company for a couple of years developing interactive media and building corporate websites as the internet became part of corporate life.

But I had a strong desire to create and perform again. I combined my performing skills with my compositional skills and an entire career of writing and touring contemporary Jewish music was born. What a thrill to visit communities all over the country and share the things that inspired me with like-minded spiritual seekers. 

Thirty years and seven albums later I am ready to return to some of my earliest motivations as a composer.

With new tools at my disposal, composing in the genre of electronica has yielded a completely different brand of music. It has been liberating to compose away from a guitar and without the constraints of typical musical forms. What has emerged is a new expression inspired by the infinite sonorities of electronic instruments, a new way of capturing and using my voice, and musical and lyrical themes that reflect my curiosity and musical adventures.