About Nora
Nora Shaffer is an in-demand freelancer and private instructor in the Chicago area. She has had the pleasure of performing and recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, and many other area ensembles.
A proud DePaul University graduate, she studied with Larry Combs and Julie DeRoche while earning a Performer’s Certificate and Masters in Music (with distinction). She completed a B.A. at Luther College, Decorah, IA and has also studied with Stephen Williamson, Bil Jackson, and Andrew Stevens.
Passionate about chamber music, Nora is a founding member (Clarinet 1/Eb Clarinet) of the Lake Effect Clarinet Quartet. As Vandoren artists, the quartet concertizes and presents clinics across the Midwest. The Quartet released their debut album, Nielsen, Grainger, & Strauss in October of 2019. Notable performances include at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest in 2019 and 2017, a 2017 residency at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute, and at the 2012 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.
Nora is Adjunct Faculty in Music Education at DePaul University (Chicago, IL) and Adjunct Professor of Clarinet and Theory at Wilbur Wright College (Chicago, IL). She maintains a private studio in Chicago, as well as significant studios at Niles West High School, Skokie, IL, and Puzon’s Musical Instruments, Lansing, IL. Her talented students have participated at Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa All State Bands/Orchestras, received consistently high marks at Solo Ensemble Festivals, moved higher within their respective sections, and have been accepted to study clarinet at many quality universities.
In 2017, Nora’s method, Scales and Harmonic Studies for the Intermediate Clarinetist, the first comprehensive intermediate scale study, was published by EHM Publishing. Suitable for use in high school through early college, this method provides students with a solid knowledge of all keys to eliminate frustration when learning more complex variations of scale study. It was "Highly recommended," by the International Clarinet Association's December 2018 The Clarinet journal.
In her spare time, Nora enjoys adventurous cooking and baking, biking along the lakeshore, doting on her two cats, and maintaining an impressive shoe collection.
For more information, visit Nora's website!
