citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message theodore presser company parent company carl fischer music founded 1883 founder theodore presser country of origin united states headquarters location king of prussia pennsylvania publication types sheet music official website www.presser.com the theodore presser company is an american music publishing and distribution company located in king of prussia pennsylvania and formerly based in bryn mawr pennsylvania . it is the oldest continuing music publisher in the united states . it has been owned by carl fischer music since 2004 . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 theodore presser 1.2 the presser company 1.3 presser foundation 2 composers published by theodore presser 3 see also 4 notes 5 references 6 external links history edit theodore presser edit theodore presser was born july 3 1848 in pittsburgh pennsylvania to german emigrant christian presser and caroline dietz . 2 as a young man he worked in an iron foundry helping to mold cannon balls for the army during the civil war . this activity proved too strenuous for his young physique 3 and at 16 he began selling tickets for the strokosch opera company in pittsburgh . 4 in 1864 he began working as a clerk at c.c. mellor s music store in pittsburgh . 3 he eventually achieved the position of sheet music department manager . 4 presser began his musical studies at 19 by learning to play the piano . at 20 he began studies music at mt. union college where he stayed for a year and then worked as a piano teacher at ohio northern university for two years . 2 further studies were completed at miami conservatory of music the new england conservatory and the leipzig conservatory in germany under reinecke jadassoh and zwintscher . his late start in learning to play the piano handicapped his technique . 2 he is credited as the founder of the department of music at ohio wesleyan university where he taught 1876 1878 . 2 while there he founded the music teachers national association . 2 his studies in germany lasted from 1878 to 1880 . he then became director of music at hollins college in roanoke virginia . 3 4 in october 1883 while working at hollins he began publication of the etude music magazine with only 250 in cash . 4 the immediate success of his new magazine prompted him to seek larger publishing facilities in philadelphia pennsylvania in 1884 . presser died in philadelphia on october 28 1925 . he married helen louise curran 1890 ; d. 1905 and elise houston 1908 ; d. 1922 . 2 the presser company edit presser s need for music content within the etude resulted in his establishment as a dealer and publisher . following the purchase of the john church company in 1930 the theodore presser company acquired the oliver ditson company in 1931 . through this acquisition presser traces its origins to 1783 when batelle s book store later the oliver ditson company began a music publishing business in boston massachusetts . in 1972 the theodore presser company acquired elkan vogel and its locally represented agencies including hamelle et cie. henry lemoine et cie. and others making the theodore presser company a major distributor of french music in the united states . on august 31 2004 presser closed its retail music stores in both king of prussia and center city philadelphia . the company now focuses primarily on publishing and distribution activities from its headquarters in king of prussia . in addition to its own catalog presser represents the music of more than 70 u.s. and foreign publishers including universal edition peermusic classical ditions alphonse leduc and b renreiter verlag . presser foundation edit the publishing company that presser founded was so successful that in 1906 presser was able to express his appreciation to those who made this success possible by establishing the presser home for retired music teachers located on west johnson street in the mount airy section of philadelphia . his philanthropic zeal is continued to this day through his foresight in forming the presser foundation in 1916 nine years before his death . each year the presser foundation awards scholarships grants and funds specifically to further the cause of music and music education in america . composers published by theodore presser edit samuel adler william albright martin amlin daniel asia p.d.q. bach seymour barab irwin bazelon warren benson chester biscardi william bolcom victoria bond louis calabro ronald caltabiano chen yi valerie coleman daniel dorff john downey henri dutilleux donald erb eric ewazen david felder ricky ian gordon adolphus hailstork iain hamilton donald harris michael hersch lejaren hiller katherine hoover huang ruo charles ives stephen jaffe robert jager martin kennedy earl kim william kraft ezra laderman henri lazarof david leisner gerald levinson peter scott lewis lowell liebermann philip maneval james matheson william mayer john melby robert moevs robert muczynski jeffrey mumford jeff nichols carter pann thomas pasatieri george perle vincent persichetti marta ptaszynska shulamit ran behzad ranjbaran jay reise george rochberg bernard rogers carl ruggles peter schickele gary schocker william schuman amy scurria roger sessions ralph shapey hale smith steven stucky robert suderburg francis thorne george tsontakis melinda wagner david ward steinman hugo weisgall dan welcher richard wernick roger zare ellen taaffe zwilich see also edit the etude music publishers association notes edit carl fischer to acquire theodore presser . a b c d e f richard d. wetzel 1999 . presser theodore . american national biography . new york oxford university press . a b c frederick h. martens 1935 . presser theodore . dictionary of american biography . new york charles scribner s sons . a b c d the presser foundation history . retrieved 2 april 2013 . references edit the presser story . theodore presser company . retrieved 7 july 2015 . external links edit theodore presser company official site the presser foundation complete listing of composers published by theodore presser complete listing of music publishers affiliated with theodore presser carl fischer music theodore presser company scores at the international music score library project publisher page retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title theodore presser company & oldid 743826817 categories music publishing companies of the united statescompanies based in montgomery county pennsylvaniasheet music publishing companiesunited states national medal of arts recipientspublishing companies established in 18831883 establishments in pennsylvaniahidden categories wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the dictionary of american biographyarticles needing additional references from september 2010all articles needing additional referencesarticles with 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