Rudolph Schirmer

Rudolph Edward Schirmer Jr. (June 18, 1919 – Nov 19, 2000) was a composer, lyricist, poet, and the former chairman of the Board of G. Schirmer Music Inc., an American classical music publishing company. In World War II, he worked in the U.S. Military Intelligence Service during the war in a unit called the Ritchie Boys, which was a unit that consisted of German-speaking personnel for roles in counterintelligence in Europe, translating key information from German prisoners of war (POW), and related services.

Starting in 1949, Schirmer was a prolific song writer for over 20 years. He occasionally used poetry by notable poets or books by notable authors as the lyrics for songs.

In 1968, he wrote ''Hymn to the Americas'' (''Himno a las Americas'' in Spanish) which was performed by the Washington National Symphony at the Fourth Inter-American Music Festival in 1968. Provided by Wikipedia