Renaissance man

He sits alone in a dimly lit room, lost in thought, preparing for another weekend performance.

“Three minutes until show time,” someone yells from behind a closed door.

The 6-foot, 2-inch shooting guard stands as images of practice flash just behind his eyes. He thinks about all the movements, sequences and tempos indelibly etched into his mind by hours of dedication.

After giving himself one final pep talk, Mo Safren steps through the door and every eye in the room is immediately focused on him.

But there’s no music being pumped through hidden speakers or fans screaming inspirational sayings. Instead, he steps into a small room occupied by three studious-looking judges and a gleaming, brown, grand piano.

Without hesitation, Safren perches himself on a different sort of bench.

“I’ve always liked getting lost in music and creating pleasing sounds,” says the senior two-sport athlete from Eastern View High School. “I’ve always kind of had a natural ear for music, so I can listen to songs and pick them up pretty easily.”

Most people probably know Safren as the sharp-shooting leader of the Cyclones basketball squad and a ball hawk in the football team’s secondary. But he’s also a bit of a savant on the piano, and it’s that talent — not his pinpoint jump shot — that may very well earn him a college scholarship.

“I think music might take me further in life,” Safren says after being asked if he would accept a music scholarship over one for athletics. “In the long run, I think it would have a better chance to become my career. I can just picture myself in a studio in a big city somewhere like New York.”

Safren’s musical gifts may be a mystery to many sports fans, but they certainly haven’t gone unnoticed. He’s already been accepted into the Music Conservatory at Shenandoah University and is awaiting the results of an audition at James Madison University. Shenandoah has even talked about offering him a talent scholarship.

“Mo has been impressive since he was a little kid,” Safren’s father Richie says. “He handles his time well, and he works hard at everything he does. He doesn’t settle for being mediocre in anything, whether it’s piano or basketball.”

JMU and Shenandoah are two of the best music schools in Virginia. Safren impressed the judges with his ability to play a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach, but he feels like he really set himself apart after playing a song he composed himself.

“After I did the first pieces, I could tell by their faces the judges were like, ‘This kid is all right,’” he says. “I didn’t feel like I got all their respect, so I asked if I could play my piece. After I did, I could tell their faces brightened up a little.”

Safren began playing the piano after his parents accidentally stumbled across their son’s virtuosity during a Thanksgiving get-together at a family member’s house.

After dinner, Safren’s mother Wendy heard a melody drifting from another room and commented, “Wow, those piano lessons are really paying off for David (Safren’s cousin).”

But as she rounded a corner, she realized it wasn’t David recreating the magic of a Stevie Wonder song but her 10-year-old son, who had never played piano in his life.

“It made me feel like he was the Midas man,” Wendy says. “Mo has always done things the right way, in the classroom and in life. He’s always been a little quiet, but he’s a natural leader.”

Not long after their startling discovery, Safren’s parents bought him a small keyboard — and the rest, as they say, is history.

“I really liked jamming on my keyboard and making good sounds,” Safren says. “I always had fun listening to music and I realized it wasn’t that hard for me to pick up on it, so I figured I shouldn’t let that talent go to waste.”

He’s got a basketball jones
Safren loves music, but he isn’t about to forget about all the hours he put in to develop his textbook shot and become a multisport athlete.

In fact, when it comes to colleges, Safren is looking for what his mother calls a “perfect combination.”

“Everyone I’ve talked to says being a music production major is like a sport,” Safren says. “You’re working after school and practicing all the time. So I’m trying to find a good fit where I can play basketball and work with a good music program.”

Safren only spent one year at Eastern View, but it was time well spent.

As a safety on the football team, he led the Cyclones with seven interceptions, and as the captain of the basketball squad, he averaged around 18 points a game and led the Cyclones on a run into the regional tournament that ended one game shy of a state title berth. He was also named first-team All Battlefield District and second-team All Region.

Much like his musical talents, Safren’s accomplishments on the court haven’t gone unnoticed. Seton Hill (Pa.) University and Ohio Valley University have already made scholarship offers, and he is looking forward to a trip to Lock Haven (Pa.) University.

“It’s a really big decision,” Safren says of the choice to take an athletic or music scholarship. “It’s been pretty stressful. I have to find the right fit, and I’ll be really glad when I do.”

Before Eastern View
The 17-year-old Culpeper native was a three-year starter at Highland — the private school in Warrenton where he amassed a career average of almost 15 points a game and led the Rams to a Pioneer District title as a junior.

Safren says he transferred to Highland his freshman year because he was excited to learn under the tutelage of basketball coach Keith “Mister” Jennings.

“I mean, he (Jennings) was an NBA player, so I knew he could help me with my game,” Safren says. “He was one of the best individual coaches I’ve ever met. He showed me how to be a smart player by changing up speeds. He really elevated my game.”

Safren says playing perennial powerhouses like Montrose Christian High School also improved his game, but the newness of Eastern View and the opportunity to play football lured him back to public school as a senior.

It almost seems like his three years at Highland were in preparation for a big senior campaign. If that is the case, then all anyone can say is “job well done” because Safren proved deadly from behind the three-point arch and just as dangerous taking the ball to the hoop.

“The team looked up to him for offensive leadership,” EVHS coach Walter Wright said. “He brought great discipline to the table and he put points on the scoreboard.”

Safren’s shot is sweet and his moves are electric, but neither is his most impressive quality, according to Wright.

“Every team should know who their clutch man is,” the first-year coach at EVHS said. “Mo was definitely our clutch man, and it takes years of hard work and sweat to be able to develop a clutch shot like his.”

While Safren’s immediate future may not be perfectly mapped out right now, but no matter where he goes, he’s sure to make beautiful music — on and off the court.