Dr. E. L. Lancaster is Vice President and Keyboard Editor-in-Chief of Alfred Music 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 350 publications designed for students of all ages. Dr. Lancaster is a regular writer for the "Questions and Answers" column for Clavier Companion 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.

Morty Manus is president of Alfred Music Publishing Co., Inc. When Morty joined the company, he had recently received a business degree from City College of New York. As a clarinetist and pianist, he saw the need for quality music education publications. Drawing upon his musical experiences, Morty oversaw the development of instructional publications for accordion, guitar, piano, and drums; performance music for band, orchestra, chorus, and music theory.

Morty is the author and editor of numerous Alfred titles, including Alfred’s Basic Guitar Course, Alfred's Basic Piano Library, Alfred’s Adult Piano Course, and Essentials of Music Theory. In 2008, he received an honorary doctorate degree in music from the VanderCook College of Music in Chicago for “having made a significant contribution to the music education profession as evidenced by his outstanding creative achievements, scholarship and leadership.”

Morty met his wife Iris when she was working for Alfred on Saturdays. Iris has worked on a full-time basis for Alfred since the late 1960s, and maintains the position of executive producer.