About Alfred

Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., (www.alfred.com) the world leader in music education products since 1922, is dedicated to helping people experience the joy of making music. With hundreds of expert authors and composers backed by a talented staff in six offices worldwide, Alfred publishes educational, reference and performance pieces for teachers, students and performers spanning every musical instrument and style.

Alfred Piantodosi, a composer and musician, founded Alfred Publishing Company in New York in 1922. His modest Tin Pan Alley pop song catalog included such hits as "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe"—songs that still generate revenue for the company.

Sam Manus, a violinist who had provided background music for silent movies, bought the company in 1928. In 1950, Sam's son Morty, a clarinetist and pianist, and his wife Iris, began working for the company. Inspired by the need for quality music education products, Morty oversaw the development of an instructional series for accordion, followed by books for guitar and piano.

Alfred outgrew its New York headquarters in 1975 and moved its offices to Los Angeles and its warehouse to upstate New York. At this time John O'Reilly joined Alfred as an editor and oversaw its explosion of band and orchestra titles. In the 1980s, overall sales doubled to $12 million and Morty's sons Steven and Ron joined the company. The 1990s saw expansion into the international market with branch offices in Australia, Asia, the U.K. and Germany, and sales doubled again to over $25 million. Today, Alfred is the world’s largest educational music publisher, with over 15,000 active print, video (DVD, VHS/PAL), software, general MIDI, audio CD, and enhanced CD titles in circulation throughout the world.

Alfred has either acquired or made distribution agreements with an impressive array of other publishers including National Guitar Workshop, Studio 4 Productions, the Dover Music catalog, Faber Music, Myklas Music Press, and Highland-Etling. In addition, we've recently expanded our state-of-the-art warehouse in New York to 100,000 square feet. Our specially designed picking and shipping systems ensure almost 100% accuracy in filling orders.

Most recently, Alfred purchased Warner Bros. Publications—one of the largest publishers of printed music—from Warner Music Group.

As we enter our second century, Alfred continues embracing new technologies while adapting to market changes—all with a company-wide commitment to service. From "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" to the creation of the world's best-selling piano method and the production of interactive music software, Alfred steadily expands its sales through the dedication of our highly trained and talented staff throughout the world.

About E. L. Lancaster

Dr. E. L. Lancaster is Vice President and Keyboard Editor-in-Chief of Alfred Publishing. He draws upon his teaching experience, ranging from pre-school students through doctoral candidates, to direct the Alfred keyboard catalog. Dr. Lancaster holds degrees from Murray (KY) State University, the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

From 1979 until 1998, Dr. Lancaster was Professor of Music at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, where he taught courses in piano pedagogy and coordinated the group piano program. Dr. Lancaster established the masters and doctoral programs in piano pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma in 1980 and served as Major Professor for more than 50 doctoral dissertations in that field. He taught pre-college students in the Piano Pedagogy Laboratory Program, combining group and private instruction. In addition, from 1981 to 1996, he and his wife, Dr. Gayle Kowalchyk, operated a large independent piano studio in Norman, Oklahoma.

Dr. Lancaster has served as National Chairman of Group Piano and National Chairman of Student Chapters for MTNA. He has held offices in the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy, including Chair of the Administration/Pedagogy Liaison Committee. Dr. Lancaster has received numerous teaching awards from the University of Oklahoma, including the Regents Award for Superior Teaching (1984), Associated Distinguished Lectureship (1987), Provost's Outstanding Academic Advising Award (1996), and Outstanding Faculty Award in the College of Fine Arts (1996). In 1991 he was awarded a David Ross Boyd Professorship, named in honor of the first OU president, given to faculty members who excel in teaching, counseling and guiding students.

Dr. Lancaster has presented workshops for teachers throughout the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. He is the author or co-author of more than 125 publications designed for students of all ages. Dr. Lancaster is a regular writer for the "Questions and Answers" column for Clavier magazine and also serves as a consulting editor. He now lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and their two children, Kelsey and Chase.

About Gayle Kowalchyk

Dr. Gayle Kowalchyk is Keyboard Editor for Supplementary Piano Publications (1988-present) for Alfred Publishing. Her responsibilities include selecting and editing music for the supplementary piano catalog and the Alfred Sheet Music Club, as well as editing the quarterly newsletter Piano Rendezvous. She holds degrees from Ohio University (piano performance, 1977), Northwestern University (piano performance and pedagogy, 1979) and an Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University (piano pedagogy, 1989).

Dr. Kowalchyk was formerly on the faculty of Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, where she coordinated the class piano program, directed the piano preparatory program and taught graduate piano pedagogy. During the summers of 1979-82 she taught class piano and piano ensemble at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. She has also taught piano pedagogy and class piano at Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, and the University of Oklahoma, Norman.

A frequent clinician and adjudicator, Dr. Kowalchyk has presented sessions for national conventions of the Music Teachers National Association and the Music Educators National Conference, as well as for the National Group Piano Symposium, the National Piano Teachers Institute, the International Pedagogy Workshops, the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy and the World Piano Pedagogy Conference. She is a consulting editor for Clavier magazine.

With her husband, Dr. E. L. Lancaster, she is the co-author of more than 75 educational piano books. From 1981 until 1996 Dr. Kowalchyk and her husband taught students of all ages at their independent piano studio in Norman, Oklahoma. She now lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and two children, Kelsey and Chase, where she works full-time on writing and editing projects for Alfred.

About Christine H. Barden

An internationally recognized authority on early childhood music, Christine H. Barden is a co-author of Alfred's Music for Little Mozarts preschool piano method. She is currently an independent piano teacher in Anaheim, California, where she teaches numerous prize-winning students in piano and composition, in addition to Music for Little Mozarts preschool classes.

A graduate with a degree in piano performance from San Francisco State University, Christine studied with Vladimir Brenner, piano soloist for the NBC Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she spent four years studying, performing and teaching in Europe.

Christine was one of the first teachers from the United States to study with Yamaha Music Foundation instructors in Japan. She subsequently served as a national staff member with Yamaha for 17 years. Her responsibilities included Director of Curriculum and National Chief Instructor for the Yamaha Music Education System.

A popular clinician, Christine has presented workshops for piano teachers at numerous professional meetings and on the campuses of colleges and universities throughout the United States, as well as in England and Norway. Her published music with Alfred includes several charming piano solos such as Starlight Dreams, My Loose Tooth, Etude Toccata, Santa's Helpers, Super Kids' Parade and the National Federation of Music Club's Junior Festival selection, Hide and Seek.

About Karen Farnum Surmani

Karen Farnum Surmani taught elementary music for several years in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She had a very successful program as an itinerant vocal and general elementary music teacher at LAUSD, teaching pre-kindergarten through 6th grade classes at multiple schools. Karen has extensive training in early childhood music teaching and has also taught middle school and at the University of Southern California. An accomplished classical vocalist, Karen has performed in venues around the world and continues to sing professionally. She is also a private voice teacher who has taught many talented students.

Karen is the Early Childhood and Vocal Masterworks editor for Alfred Publishing, and is the author of Teach Yourself to Sing Book, CD, and CD-ROM. She is co-author of Rock Singing Techniques Book, CD; Essentials of Music Theory Book, CD, CD-ROM; Sing at First Sight; and Classroom Music for Little Mozarts.

Karen received a Bachelor of Music degree and a K-12 music teaching credential from California State University, Northridge. She has also earned a Masters in Music Education degree from the University of Southern California. Karen resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Andrew, and their two sons.

About Donna Brink Fox

Eastman School of Music Professor of Music Education and Eisenhart Professor of Music Education; Director, Early Childhood Music Program; and Acting Dean of Academic Affairs, 2004-05.

BA, Calvin College; MM, Ohio University; PhD, Ohio State University. Director of early childhood program for Eastman's Community Education Division, featured in MENC Promising Practices in Pre-Kindergarten Music and on the NBC Today Show. Director of Eastman's summer Orff Schulwerk Teacher Training course. Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching (1996). Outstanding Alumni Award, Ohio University School of Music. Who's Who in American Women. International consultant on early childhood music; workshops and clinics throughout the U.S. and Australia. Invited papers and presentations for Chamber Music America, MENC, ISME, NYSSMA, MTNA, Regional Music Therapy Association, AOSA, Bowling Green Symposium, Suncoast Music Education Conference. Articles on music education for young children in Current Issues in Music Education, Psychomusicology, Music Educators Journal, American Music Teacher, Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning, General Music Today, and International Journal of Music Education. Co-author of computer software package TONEY Listens to Music. Contributor to Suzuki World, Children's Music Workshop, and Music and You. Member of the editorial board, Psychomusicology. Member, Board of Trustees, Rochester Aesthetic Education Institute. Member, MENC, New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA), International Society for Music Education, American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Association for the Education of Young Children. Faculty member, Ohio University (1975-76), Illinois State University (1980-84), Eastman (1984-).

© 2007 Alfred Publishing Co, Inc.