Ronald Kauffmann
A native of Indiana, Ronald Kauffmann received his BME degree from the University of Evansville where he majored in voice and minored in trombone and piano. He received his MM in choral conducting from SMU under Lloyd Pfautsch. He has studied orchestral conducting as a private student of James Rives Jones of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, as well as studies with Michael Korn, Alfred Mann, Vincent Persichetti, and William Smith. After a stint as associate professor of music for Paducah Community College, he entered full-time church work. During the past thirty-five years he has served as a director of music ministries for music programs in United Methodist and Presbyterian churches in Illinois, Iowa, Texas and Georgia.
As a choral and instrumental composer, he has published over eighty compositions represented in the catalogs of over a dozen national and international publishers. In 2002, The Vienna Choir Boys recorded his original composition, Sing a Joyful Song of Christmas for its Carols from North America and Europe CD. He has served as an adjunct instructor for Perkins Seminary (SMU) and collaborated in concert with Jackson Berkey, keyboard artist for Mannheim Steamroller. He was dubbed “Duke of Paducah” and is included in editions of Outstanding Young Men of America, and Who’s Who in America. His wife, Sue, is a literacy specialist for Gwinnett County Public Schools; his son, Brandon, is a clinical psychologist, and his younger son, Trevor, is a student at Bucknell University.
