Donald Ashwander (1929–1994) was an American composer in the contemporary ragtime movement. Much of his printed music was not available to the general public until 1996, two years after his death. Ashwander was best known to the general public as the musical director for the Paper Bag Players, a New York children's theater group (founded by Judith Martin in 1958) from 1966 to Ashwander's death in 1994.