Alan W. Schmitz (b.1950 in North Dakota) is Professor of Theory and Composition and Associate Director of the School of Music for Undergraduate Studies at the University of Northern Iowa. Prior to acquiring this position in 1994, he held faculty appointments at colleges in Alaska, Colorado, and New Jersey. Schmitz received bachelor and master of music degrees from the University of New Mexico and the Ph.D. in music theory and composition from Rutgers University.

His teachers include Robert Moevs, Rolv Yttrehus, and William Wood. Schmitz's music is widely performed in the United States and has also been presented in Western Europe, Romania, and Russia. He has received awards and grants for composition from several agencies including the Alaska State Arts Council, the Iowa Arts Council, the Margaret Jory Music Copying Assistance Fund of the American Music Center, the University of Northern Iowa, and, for the development of a new opera the Lila Wallace/Readers Digest Foundation. Commissions for new works have come from the Alaska Children's Choir, the Anchorage Concert Chorus, the Alaska Dance Theatre, Augustine's Artists and the Minot, North Dakota Symphony Orchestra. Schmitz has also published articles on composing for guitar and is a member of the College Music Society, Society of Composers, Iowa Composers Forum, the American Music Center, and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI).

His Four Songs from "Green Lotus Man" and Nocturne for flute and piano are on CDs released by the Capstone Records Label. Green Lotus Man is also published in the Society of Composers Journal of Music Scores, vol. 21. 90s Timeflow, a CD of chamber music by Schmitz, and Lyric Images, a CD of guitar music by Schmitz, have recently been released by Capstone Records.