Biography:

 Tel Aviv School of Arts . He participated in the children’s plays “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, ” Nils Holgerson “, ” Hannahla’s Shabbat Dress ” and ” The Catects ” at the Jacques Jacob Theater. He also took part in hosting the televised version of Festigal 1984 alongside Yigal Bashan[2]. Besides that, he appeared in cinema and television, among others, in a series of commercials for the Israeli Construction Center directed by Yigal Shilon[3], in the corner of caution on the roads in the program ” This is it! ” with Tzipi Shavit and Meir Suisa[4], in the album “Bedtime Stories” with Talia Shapira , in the movie ” Shoe Compote ” by Yehuda Barkan , in the episode “King of the Roulette” in the sitcom The Great Restaurant , in the American TV mini-series called “Evergreen”[5]and more.

In 1985 , the play ” King Matthew the First “, based on the book by Janosz Korczak , adapted by Deborah Omer and directed by Uri Pasteur , was staged at the Bima Theater.[6]. Shafer starred for about three years alongside Sheika Ofir , who was replaced after his death by Dov Glickman[7]. The synopsis of the show was also released as a book-cassette, with the participation of the original actors.

In 1988 , alongside Yonatan Gefen, he directed the “Festival for Poets’ Songs” with the participation of the best Israeli artists of the time. A little later he retired from the game.

Shafer attended Thelma Yelin High School majoring in jazz music (as a drummer) and there he began composing for theater and cinema, to texts by Hanoch Levin , Yonatan Gefen, Silverstein and the poet Rachel .

He served in the IDF , between the years 1993-1996, in the military bands as a singer- keyboardist and as a musical arranger .

Died after a battle with a chronic illness on October 28, 2023[1].

Musical and artistic career

After his release from the army , he worked as a voice development teacher , under the guidance of his teacher Eilat Junger-Hoffman . For a while he appeared as part of the Domino Gros team at the “Hit and Run” evenings at the Tel Aviv team . During this period he even worked as a show manager in the production of ” The Story of the Suburbs “[8]by the Bhima Theater (in collaboration with the Haifa Theater ) starring Aki Avni , Mittal Trevalsi , Noa Tashvi and Adam .

In 1997 , Shafer’s first single , “Not a Question of View”, was released to the radio . This year he also composed the soundtrack for director Keren Yehezkali’s final film at Tel Aviv University “Parting Night”, based on a script by Hanoch Levin, with the participation of Moshe Ivgi, Ronit Elkabats and Dvir Bendak , he also engaged in dubbing at Niko Bar ‘s studio . This year he also created and performed with Uri Kalian the children’s show “Friends of the Sounds”.

In 1998 Shafer enrolled in undergraduate studies and a teaching certificate at Tel Aviv University . During his studies he taught drama and voice development at the Democratic Open School in Jaffa and at the School of Arts . He also studied soundtrack editing and worked in this profession in our home studio, among other things for the director and poet Netali Brown .

In 2001 he wrote with Shir Aviram the children’s book “What do you do when a friend disappears”[9], which was illustrated by Danny Kerman and was published in 2008 by Rimonim.

In 2002 Shafer accompanied the Hadar Foundation in a performance of his songs at the Tel Aviv Piano Festival , where he also performed some of his songs.

Starting in 2004 Shafer formed the band and began performing his songs at the ” Left Bank ” club. The ensemble performed throughout Israel. In the same year he also composed the soundtrack for Alon Benari’s short film “Bleach” which won the Volgin Award for the short film of 2005[10]. Shafer also gave the Riley singer several songs such as “We will try to love” (also available as a music video) which were produced by her and released as singles.

In 2006 , Shafer’s first album , “Not Something Special”, was released . He produced all his albums since then on a private label .

In 2010 Shafer participated in a Hebrew adaptation of the children’s show “Free to be you and me” (Free to be you and me) by Marlo Thomas , in which he served as musical arranger, composer, pianist and actor[11]. The show was staged in various places, including the Haifa Festival for Children’s Plays .

In 2019 Shafer participated in Ari Davidovich’s documentary “Sheika – The Hidden Life of Sheika Ofir ” and told about his memories of working with him in the play “King Matthew the First”[12].

In the second decade of the 21st century, Shafer worked as a musical instructor, teacher of singing, drama, piano and voice development in various educational institutions at the same time and continues to create and record. He also participated as a musician, together with the director Dafna Rubinstein , in directing a drama class at Ashmoret prison . Along the way, he released two singles that are not included in his albums: “You send me without a kiss” and “Hatikava Hafi’a”.

Credits:

Wikipedia