Paul Stouffer was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He studied clarinet with Gilbert Stange and harmony with Louis Chestnut at the Peabody Conservatory. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the School of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied composition with Robert Elmore and Andre Vauclain. He has devoted a lifetime to composition and music education. His works for band, orchestra, instrumental ensembles, and chorus have been published by leading music publishers. During his 40 years of teaching, first at the Philadelphia Musical Academy, then in public and private schools in Pennsylvania and Maryland, bands under his leadership have performed throughout the mid-Atlantic region at State and National Music Education Conventions.
Stouffer is Treasurer of Composers Service, Inc. (CSI) and Treasurer of the Philadelphia Chapter of NACUSA. He is also a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and the American Composers Forum. His compositions are published by Kendor Music, Inc., Almitra Music Co. Inc., Henry Elkan Music Publishers, Warner/Chapel, TRN Music Music Publishers, GIA Publications, Columbia Pictures, and Frank E. Warren Music Service.
Stouffer's compositions have been widely published in the United States. He has also been published under the names Paul Reff and A. Preisler in the United Kingdom by Augner Press. His Six for Two and Six for Three ensemble series published by Kendor Music, Inc., have been praised in Instrumental Magazine. His compositional idiom is conservative contemporary Neo-Classical.
Joyce Mullins, reviewing a concert for the Wilmington Evening Jurnal, wrote “Two Mobiles and Conversations for clarinet and piano were, by far the most mature works on the program. Stouffer writes as though he knows exactly what he wants to say and how he is going to say it”. Donald P. Delany commented in a review for the Trenton Times wrote “Paul Stouffer wrote a wonderful piece for saxophone and piano... ...and it was delightful and cheerful. But it did not sound like it was written centuries ago. It had a modern flavor to it”. Kendor Music, Inc. in their dealer's news letter wrote “Based on the perennial sales success of similar Stouffer adaptions, due in large part to their great popularity with state contest committees, we are pleased to present his latest project for instrumental duos entitled Easy Classical Canons. Charles R. Groeling, in “Music Reviews” for Instrumentalist Magazine, writes “Contrapuntal Six for Three, arranged by Paul Stouffer adds to an already impressive list of similar issues. The publisher has expanded the line to include transcriptions of works spanning three hundred years of composition from Palestrina to Brahms”.
Web: http://www.music-usa.org/nacusa-ma/all_bios.html (2011)