Videos

In fall of 2022, the premiere performance(after two postponements due to the pandemic) of “Birds Flying Through” took place in Eugene,OR. This A2 Productions collaborative, multi media piece setting the poems of Eugene poet Deborah Narin-Wells included the music of five local composers. My two contributions were “Tonight” and “The Fog Horn”. Enjoy the full video here: https://vimeo.com/796093248

On May 14th, 2022, Cascadia Composers put on a big Spring Concert: “Collaborations 2022:Re Emergence“. The closer of the concert was the premiere of my piece “Homage to bell hooks” for baritone voice, violin, piano and Krump dancer.

The wonderful Greek pianist Panos Demopoulos performing my Three Bird Intermezzi. Enjoy the flights of the geese, heron and hawk in his hands!

Cascadia Composers first live concert since the start of the pandemic, Crossing Paths took place at the Leach Botanical Gardens in fall 2021 and was a lovely event in a beautiful outdoor setting. My short piece “Danza Domestica” for violin and clarinet begins at 57:09 minutes.

As part of the New Music Gathering 2021, Leslee Smucker created a collaborative score for this old silent short film about Minnesota. I was thrilled to lend a hand(and melodica, piano and percussion) to the sonic backdrop.

Fantasia(Gurdified) fixed media by Daniel Brugh, hurdy gurdy and cajon improvisation by Paul Safar

Pendulum Palindrome(la ruta natural) is an intricate piece written for Marc Egea,hurdy gurdy, Sean Brennan,cajon and Ben Farrell, bass clarinet and recorded in Oregon and Catalonia in 2021.

“Bare Bones” performed by Kathryn Bates, cello and Charlton Lee, viola as part of Del Sol String Quartet’s Livestream with Cascadia Composers, aired Saturday, June 25th 2020.

Delgani String Quartets’ commission/collaboration with orator Rickie Birran and new music set to the iconic Poe short story!

Cat on a Wire
Diane Chaplin,cello and Andrew Teem, doumbek drum
live from Lincoln Hall, Portland State University, Portland,Oregon
October 15th, 2016
This Cascadia Composers concert “A Cuba Con Amor” was a preview of the concert performed by Cuban musicians in Havana the following month. That concert was not recorded but this fabulous performance below contains the same energy and musicality! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Paul’s Remote Piano Recital #5 including a world premiere, classical staples like Brahms Rhapsodie No.1, original pieces, jazz and pop arrangements and even a free improvisation on the hurdy gurdy :). Enjoy!

This song uses the haiku of Shiki assembled and sung by Nancy Wood with rather creepy music from Paul :)…

This very early choral work of mine was originally written for the Seattle Peace Choir in 1991 and performed here many years later in Portland by the Resonance Ensemble!

Because of the world wide pandemic, my students and I chose to do a video recital this Spring, 2020.

Remote Recital #4 is in honor of my mother Eva’s 90th birthday in June, 2020!

This Remote Recital was a fundraiser for Cascadia Composers, the Portland based chapter of NACUSA(National Association of Composers USA)!

This second of my Remote Piano Recitals was dedicated to my father, Peter Safar whose birthday was around the performance date.

In the early days of the pandemic, I performed my first livestream solo piano recital form my piano studio. Audio and video quality had some kinks to work out, but it was a fun time for this performer-composer!

A video-slide show of desert images many of which are from the professional photographer Jackie Dickert, and my composition for choir and organ featuring the Resonance Ensemble of Portland.

This piece for solo cello and doumbek(hand drum) was originally written for Cherry Blossom Musical Arts “Cat and Bird Show”. Here it is presented with cats of our neighborhood in Eugene,OR. Diane Chaplin,cello, Andrew Teem, doumbek and Alli Bach, zills.

A sweet collaboration between myself and Daniel Heila. I gave Daniel the title and length to create whatever videography he chose while I worked on the music in isolation. Then we put the two elements together and this is the result. Music performed by Ben Farrell, bass clarinet, Daniel Heila, alto flute and myself on piano.

Performance in fall of 2016 of my Piano Trio with Lisa McWhorter,violin and Eric Alterman,cello

From Cascadia Composers opening concert for the 2018-19 season, here are the Delgani String Quartet along with soprano Nancy Wood and myself performing two of the movements of “A Quartet in Red,Black and Blue”