Ernest worked for his uncle Gustav Schirmerโs company, G. Schirmer, Inc., for many years, and then headed the Boston Music Company before starting his own business. Schirmer Music Company got its start in choral music collections such as the Concord Series and works for the Harvard Glee Club, working closely with Thomas Whitney Surette and Archibald T. Davison. Before long, the company ushered int
o publication the works of composers such as Randall Thompson, Daniel Pinkham, and Conrad Susa. Ernest Schirmer, Jr., took over as president upon his fatherโs death, and Robert Macwilliams succeeded him. In 1985, Robert Schuneman, an editor of the company, and his wife, Cynthia, purchased E. Schirmer Music Company, and before long acquired Galaxy Music Corporation, managing the company until its sale in 2014. Since their initial purchase in the 1980s, it has retained its choral focus while branching out into chamber music alongside many other genres, publishing such composers as David Conte, Frank Ferko, Robert Kyr, Libby Larsen, and Gwyneth Walker. Its BMI affiliate is Ione Press.
