a b o u t

Rory Schafer (née Gregg Welcher) is a New Jersey-based composer, pianist, and educator. He completed a Master’s degree in composition at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 2021, where he studied with Scott Ordway and Steven Kemper. Rory did his undergraduate studies in composition and piano at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, where he studied under Laura Kaminsky, Kamala Sankaram, Huang Ruo and Paul Ostrovsky.

An avid collaborator in both composition and performance, he has been twice-involved with the Seal Bay Festival, the first-ever Mostly Modern Festival, the soundSCAPE Festival, as well as the Brevard Music Festival, and will work with the Oregon Bach Festival’s Composer Symposium in 2021. Rory is also a representative for the Society for New Music, a member of the American’s Composer’s Forum, and is affiliated with BMI.

Rory is currently studying Mechanical Engineering locally at Raritan Valley Community College, planning to transfer Rutgers University after completing an Associate’s Degree.

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