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Paula Corley has built a distinguished career as a performer, educator, author, and music education advocate for more than three decades. She has inspired students, supported educators, and championed artistic excellence while advancing the study and performance of the clarinet.
Recently retired as Education Advisor for Buffet Crampon North America, Corley guided the development and implementation of educational outreach programs that connected artists, educators, and students across the continent. A Buffet Crampon and Vandoren Performing Artist, Paula has been featured at numerous state and national conferences throughout the United States including the Midwest Clinic, Music for All National Festival, and the Texas University Interscholastic League. Her instructional YouTube series for Buffet Crampon Paris continues to benefit developing clarinetists worldwide.
A dedicated contributor to clarinet pedagogy, Corley is the author of, So You Want to Play the Clarinet, The Break, and five published arrangements for clarinet and piano and clarinet choir. She has commissioned three works including Michael Markowski's Unfamiliar Territory and Windfall, and Clifton Jones's Road Trip for clarinet quintet. Her writings have appeared in The Clarinet, Texas Bandmasters Review, The Instrumentalist, and WAVE.
Corley's passion for teaching is reflected in her 33-year career at the secondary and collegiate levels in Texas and North Carolina. She served as professor of clarinet at Mars Hill College, where she was principal clarinetist with the Asheville Lyric Opera for five seasons, and later taught applied clarinet and music education at Texas Lutheran University for nine years.
A graduate of Mississippi State University and Southern Methodist University, Corley was honored as Mississippi State University's Music Alumnus of the Year in 2012–2013 and was named to the Hall of Fame for Music at MSU for 2025. Paula lives near Wimberley, in the Texas Hill Country with her husband of 44 years, Dr. Al Corley, also a career music educator.