Hailed by The Boston Musical Intelligencer as "outstanding" and "fearless," Dr. Elisabeth Shafer, a native of State College, Pennsylvania, is a dedicated performer and music educator. She has appeared in concert with orchestras and ensembles, including the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, ProMusica Columbus, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, the Jackson Symphony, CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Brass, Akron Symphonic Winds, Memphis Jazz Orchestra, DanJo Jazz Orchestra, Symphony in C, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony, the Nittany Valley Symphony and Barclay Brass. Dr. Shafer was the interim core member of Seraph Brass from 2019 to 2021 and will serve as the acting core trombonist in the 2023/24 season. She will be a featured soloist with The Ohio State University Wind Symphony this fall, and she has appeared as a guest soloist with ensembles including Seraph Brass, the University of Akron Symphonic and Concert Bands, the University of Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Perry High School Symphonic Winds at the Ohio Music Educators Association Conference. She has presented solo and chamber performances at the American Trombone Workshop, the International Trombone Festival and the International Women's Brass Conference, including the presentation, Songs She Wrote: A Joint Recital of Works by Women Composers, highlighting the works of women composers. Dr. Shafer frequently performs chamber and solo recitals at universities across the country.

Dr. Shafer serves as visiting assistant professor of trombone at Ohio State University. Prior to her appointment, she served on the faculty at the University of Memphis and the University of Akron. She has taught at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Trombone Workshop, was a teaching artist in the Music in Schools Initiative in New Haven, Connecticut, and is currently on the faculty at Luzerne Music Center, a summer arts organization in the Adirondacks devoted to bringing enriching musical experiences and education to young musicians from around the world. Dr. Shafer has presented clinics for the International Trombone Workshop, the Ohio Music Educator's Association conference and the Tobi Institute, and frequently gives clinics at schools and universities across the United States.

Dr. Shafer earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in trombone performance from Boston University, her Master of Music degree from Yale School of Music in trombone performance, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Temple University in trombone performance. Her primary teachers include Toby Oft, Scott Hartman and Matthew Vaughn. Dr. Shafer is a Conn-Selmer Performing Artist.