Jim Schaeffer served as the Center for Contemporary Opera’s General and Artistic Director
from October 2008 until his retirement in 2018. Prior to that, from 2004 to 2008, he was Director
of Long Leaf Opera in Raleigh, NC. Across his roles at both companies, Schaeffer produced
and/or developed over one hundred operas, the overwhelming majority by living American
composers. He has recently come out of retirement and is now serving as Director of a new
company, Marshall Opera, in New York City.
Schaeffer has lectured on contemporary opera on four continents and frequently serves as an
adjudicator for various grants and awards, including those of the National Endowment for the
Arts. He was principal bassoonist with the orchestras of Virginia Beach, Montgomery, Alabama,
and Cambridge, England. He also serves as Treasurer of the Douglas Moore Fund for American
Music.
A retired U.S. Air Force senior officer, Schaeffer held a variety of flying, logistics, and command
assignments. His final post was as NATO liaison officer during the siege of Sarajevo, where he
conveyed NATO’s positions to the warring factions and the United Nations.
He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Texas and a Master of Arts
from Webster University in St. Louis. He also taught as an adjunct professor for nearly twenty
years at North Carolina Wesleyan University in the departments of business and philosophy.