DAVID ZAFER

Violinist/Conductor

With his exceptional skill and dedication both as a performer and a teacher, David Zafer has earned international acclaim as one of Canada's leading assets in the field of classical music.

Mr. Zafer has worked with such renowned artists as Oscar Shumsky, Glenn Gould, Leonard Rose, William Primrose and the noted pedagogue Ivan Galamian. As a performer, his career has spanned a full spectrum of engagements from Associate Concertmaster, Concertmaster and guest soloist with the Toronto and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras, the Hart House Orchestra, the Stratford Festival Orchestra and the National Ballet of Canada, to chamber group recitals at the Marlboro Festival and with the Stratford Festival's noted chamber group. He is frequently heard in broadcasts and he has recorded for CBC, RCA, London Records, Columbia and Deutsche Grammaphon.

In addition to the refinement of his own talents as a performer David Zafer has, for more than fifteen years now, focused with remarkable commitment and innovation on developing young Canadian musicians. Since 1966 , he has been a Professor of Violin in the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. During that time he has given master classes at faculties from coast to coast in Canada, and was invited to join the faculty as guest member at both the Strathclyde International Violin Competition, held in Glasgow, Scotland and at the Menuhin School in Surrey, England. He has served as performance coach for the National Youth Orchestra, a Director of the Canadian Chamber Orchestra at the Banff Centre and a faculty member for the Canadian Festival of Youth Orchestras.

During his sabbatical leave, David Zafer gave solo performances in Poland, England and on the Canadian West Coast. He also worked under world renowned Professor Okabe at the Toho School of Music in Tokyo. In addition to conducting the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, Mr. Zafer leads the Zafer Strings at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto.