Doug Shaffer
Musician for Any Occasion
Meet Doug
Doug Shaffer has nearly 20 years of experience as a musician and educator. Since he moved to San Diego, Doug has been busy playing trumpet, keys, guitar, alto saxophone, and tenor saxophone, as well as singing background vocals with several groups. Most recently, Doug has been performing and recording with Smoke & Mirrors Soundsystem and Doah’s Daydream. You may also soon hear his juicy tones on a few other projects that have yet to be released.
Prior to his move to San Diego in 2014, Doug lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he grew up.
Inspired by Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog, Doug started playing the guitar at age seven. Around the same time, he encountered sheet music for Bach’s Toccata and Fugue on his mother’s piano, and started to pick out the melody. These were just toys to him until he saw the school orchestra concert the next year and suddenly wanted to be like the cool kids playing their saxophones. But when he inquired about joining, the band director showed him a trumpet and invited him to try it.
It stuck. Over the next four years, Doug dedicated his studies to the trumpet, in the hope of attending the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Ultimately, he graduated from there and went on to study jazz trumpet performance at Temple University’s Esther Boyer College of Music & Dance.
Temple University Jazz Ensemble 2001,
Terrell Stafford, Director
CAPA Jazz Band 1995-1996
Doug has performed:
- musicals such as West Side Story, Into the Woods, The Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof, The Boyfriend, Bye Bye Birdie, and George M!
- great classical works such as Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto in E♭ Major, Aaron Copland’s Outdoor Overture, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Mahler Symphony No. 1
- with groups like the Ocean City Pops, the Philadelphia Symphonia, Rose Tree Pops Orchestra, the Galena Brass, Soul Purpose, and more.
Hear Doug Play
When Doug is not on stage or in the studio with his students, he spends time contributing to recording projects, both for the bands that he performs with regularly, and as a session player. Click here to listen to the projects that have been released that Doug plays on.
pop, jazz
PIANO
pop, jazz, classical
TRUMPET
pop, jazz
ALTO & TENOR SAX
What do you need?
Doug can help.
Live Show Performances
Hire a pro with experience playing in symphony orchestras, pit orchestras, big bands, small jazz combos, soul bands, salsa bands, and more.
Studio Recordings
Get the perfect horn sound on your track, whether for sections or solos.
Composition/
Arranging
Get feedback or help with writing horn parts for your song.
One-on-One Coaching
Learn to create your ultimate at-home practice experience. Click here to learn more about private lessons.