Candler Schaffer
Music Director and Conductor 

A freelance musician based in the North Texas and Central Florida areas, Candler Schaffer celebrates his twelfth season as Music Director and Conductor of the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra. Recent conducting engagements include tours of the Robert Goulet/Shirley Jones "Home for the Holidays" Christmas Show throughout Florida and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Florida tours for the Anne Murray Show, the Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra (Oklahoma), and several return-appearances with the Space Coast Pops (Florida) where Schaffer served previously for several years as Music Director/Conductor. Other critically acclaimed productions include performances of "West Side Story," the national debut performances in Florida of the Strauss Symphony of America, and the AIMS Festival Orchestra at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Schaffer has degrees in music and music education from the University of Miami and the University of Maryland. He has also earned both the Master of Fine Arts and the Doctor of Musical Arts Degrees in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Iowa, under the tutelage of Dr. James Dixon, protege of Dimitri Mitropoulos.

At the university level, Dr. Schaffer has conducted the orchestras, assisted with the string programs, and taught conducting on the graduate and undergraduate levels at Texas Christian University, Oregon State University, Texas Woman's University, and Midwestern State University. In Florida, Schaffer founded and served as the first Music Director and Principal Conductor of the "Camerata Winds of Melbourne," and additionally served as Associate Conductor of both the Melbourne Municipal Band and the Melbourne Community Orchestra. An enthusiastic advocate of the music of our own time, Schaffer also helped co-found and direct the Wichita Falls Symphony/Midwestern State University's new music series - the "Century Concerts."

As a hornist, Schaffer has studied with Philip Farkas and Dale Clevenger (past and current Principal Horns of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra), Paul Anderson (University of Iowa), Elizabeth Bobo (University of Miami), Robert Ricks (Catholic University), and William Arsers (National Symphony Orchestra). Schaffer has played horn professionally with a number of orchestras across the country, including the Greater Miami Philharmonic, the Florida Symphony Orchestra, the Palm Beach Pops Orchestra, the Fort Lauderdale Symphony, the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Space Coast Philharmonic/Pops, the Miami Opera Guild, the Treasure Coast Opera Orchestra, the Bach Festival Orchestra, and the Quad‑City Symphony. Dr. Schaffer has taught horn at Oregon State University, Texas Christian University, Midwestern State University, Brevard Community College, and Miami‑Dade Community College, and continues to enjoy an active professional life as a freelance hornist and private studio horn teacher.

A dedicated arts educator and advocate, Dr. Schaffer has extensive experience as a lecturer, guest conductor, and adjudicator, and has served as a guest clinician and conductor for numerous youth orchestras and bands throughout Maryland, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Florida. He has taught secondary instrumental music in both Prince George's County, Maryland, and Brevard County, Florida, and has served on or worked for arts organizations throughout the nation, including the Arts Council of Wichita Falls (Texas), the Irving Arts Center, the Municipal Band of North Texas, the Oregon Arts Commission, the Willamette Arts Council, (Oregon), Festival Corvallis, the Board of Directors of both the Melbourne Municipal Band and the Melbourne Community Orchestra, and the Cultural Executive's Committee of the Brevard Cultural Alliance (Florida).