Spencer Schaffer is a freelance trombonist and teacher based in Los Angeles, CA. He completed his Masters studies in Trombone Performance at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in 2023, and earned his Bachelor's Degree from Northwestern University in 2020. Spencer has appeared with numerous orchestras, most notably the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Symphony Orchestra, Redlands Symphony, New West Symphony, The Orchestra Now, and many others. He also enjoys performing Early Baroque and Renaissance Music with local groups as a sackbut player. 

An in-demand educator in Southern California, Spencer is a Teaching Artist at Gustavo Dudamel’s El-Sistema inspired Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA), as well as a mentor for ToneBase, Musicians At Play, and the Colburn School. He currently holds a position as Adjunct Professor of Trombone at Los Angeles Valley College, and has been teaching privately since 2016. He is also a Co-Founder of the Los Angeles Brass Alliance, a non-profit organization that aims to foster artistic opportunity for emerging brass professionals in the greater Los Angeles area. 

Spencer’s recording credits include Riot Games' League of Legends: Welcome to Noxus (2025), as well as two albums recorded by the National Orchestral Institute Orchestra: Copland, Creston & Others: Orchestral Works (2023) and Gershwin, Joan Tower & Steven Stucky: Works for Piano & Orchestra (2024) under the NAXOS label. He can also be heard on the 2024 album Transcription as Translation with The Orchestra Now. 

Spencer has been working for the Bob Reeves Brass company as a mouthpiece polisher and consultant since 2023, and also holds part-time positions at the BrassArk and BrassMedic. Outside of music and work, Spencer enjoys hiking, swimming, reading, and researching historical ancestral genealogy.