The Firehouse Space is where Dennis Shafer has done the largest part of his creative work in New York, from Soundpainting to themes like Smellovision and Praise of Shadows.  This is where his debut New York saxophone recital happened in January 2015, and where he produces the New York Soundpainting Festival each year. Here are some of the highlights from those performances.

The Chagall Performance Art Collaborative has created a series of artworks related to the aromas of different essential oils. As ChagallPAC continues its mission to pursue different interdisciplinary collaborations, the sense of smell and taste have come into play here.  Smellovision was inspired by a performance in Dennis Shafer's Performance and Interactive Media Art MFA program at Brooklyn College in March 2014, where audience members were exposed to the smells of spices, dirt, and finally gasoline, while their other senses were controlled with blindfolding and headphones.  Diana Norma Szokolyai wrote poetry for the essential oils of citrus fruits, lavender and frankincense, and these poems were played in headphones while the smells of the oils were wafted in front of them.  There were many versions of this performance given in Boston and New York, from November 2014 to March 2015. The type of essential oils used in these performances are a pure therapeutic grade by DoTerra. More information at MyDoterra.com/peartreeremedy

Under the direction of Kenneth Radnofsky, The Boston Conservatory Saxophone Ensemble had a 12-year tenure and performed two concerts each year, including premiere performances of composers as diverse as Charles Wuorinen, Henry Brant, Robert Morris, and Curtis Hughes. The group has also performed Louis Andriessen's "Workers' Union" and the work of emerging composers. 

As a conductor of this ensemble, Dennis Shafer conducted the following works, some of which you can view here:

The Pulcinella Suite by Igor Stravinsky

Volcan for saxophone ensemble, 3 percussion, and saxophone soloist; Jon Amon, soloist

Sounds for Saxophone Ensemble for saxophone ensemble, live electronics, Soundpainting. Score and electronics by Dennis Shafer, Teerapat Parnmongkol, and David Krebs (world premiere)

Objet/Ombre for saxophone ensemble and electronics by Mikel Kuehn

Mural Treatment for saxophone ensemble and Soundpainting by Etienne Rolin (world premiere)

Azuleros for saxophone ensemble by Bernard Carlosema

Illustration Analytique Supergelatineuse by Claudio Gabriele (world premiere)

Calligrammes by Robert Lemay

La Coefficient de la Viscosite Angelique by Claudio Gabriele