Paul Zafer earned an Artist Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, a Bachelor of Music in Performance degree from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Music degree from Northern Illinois University. His teachers have included his father, David Zafer, Jose-Luis Garcia, Steven Staryk, Shmuel Ashkenasi and violist Richard Young. Further studies included coachings with Pinchas Zukerman, Yehudi Menhuin, James Buswell, Joseph Silverstein, and members of the Orford and Vermeer String Quartets. Mr. Zafer made his solo debut with the Calgary Philharmonic at age 13. He has also appeared as a featured soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Joffrey Ballet, and the Chicago Sinfonietta. He has performed with the English Chamber Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, and the National Ballet of Canada.
Presently Mr. Zafer is concertmaster of the Chicago Sinfonietta. He has performed as concertmaster with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln Symphony of Nebraska, Elgin Symphony, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Orchestra. He is a member of the Lake Forest Symphony and the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra in Door County, Wisconsin. He has also performed in many Broadway In Chicago shows such as The Lion King, Kinky Boots, Miss Saigon and Phantom of the Opera.
Mr. Zafer is currently on the faculty at Wheaton College and is one of the coaches for the DePaul University Symphony Orchestra. During the summers he is a faculty member at Camp Musical des Laurentides in Quebec, Canada. He has taught and coached at North Park University, the Chicago School of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, Stanford University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Missouri-St. Louis, the Royal Conservatory of Toronto, and the University of Toronto. He and his wife Betty Lewis reside in Wilmette, Illinois.