John Paulson received a Master of Arts in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Minnesota. The creator of SmartMusic, Paulson was founder and CEO of MakeMusic Inc., the company that develops and markets Finale and SmartMusic. In addition to serving on the Global Economic Summit of the Music Products Industry and a variety of music industry and music education task forces, he has served on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Music Merchants, the Wenger Corporation, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the American Composers Forum. He was in Eastman’s Kaufman Advisors Group and in 2002 he received the Golden Clef Award from the Berklee College of Music in recognition of his lifetime commitment to music education. Paulson's previous compositions include Epinicion and Psalm among others. He is active as a music clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor.