Ben Stonaker (b.1981) received his Master of Music degree in Composition from the University of Missouri - Kansas City, where he studied with James Mobberley, Chen Yi, and Paul Rudy. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Louisiana State University where he studied with Stephen David Beck. Mr. Stonaker's works for band have received national recognition including the 2001 Young Composer Mentor Project with Mark Camphouse, presentations at the 2005 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, and an honorable mention in the 2006 ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Prize. He was invited in 2008 to contribute a chapter to the GIA series "Composers on Composing for Band". Mr. Stonaker's works have been performed across the United States and in Wales, Canada, Brazil, and Puerto Rico. He actively seeks performances at North American Saxophone Alliance conferences and ICA ClarinetFest conferences. One of his most recent projects is for forty-four contra clarinets and will be performed in Lincoln, Nebraska at the 2012 ICA ClarinetFest. Mr. Stonaker currently teaches as a woodwind specialist in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, and is composer-in-residence for Central Lafourche High School. www.benstonaker.com