Karol Stryja (2 February 1915 in

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...

– 31 January 1998 in Katowice) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

conductor and teacher. Stryja, son of a

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

, was born in

and finished elementary school, gymnasium and teachers' seminary there. Since 1934 he worked as a teacher and simultaneously studied at the University of Music in Katowice. In 1939 he graduated from the Department of Pedagogy, in 1951 from the studies in conducting. In 1937 he started his conducting career with the ''Echo'' choir in

Łaziska Górne Łaziska Górne (german: Ober Lazisk, szl, Gōrne Łaziska) is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Borders on the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – metropolis with the population of 2 million. Located in the Silesian Highland ...

. Stryja later worked at the Silesian Philharmonic in Katowice, where he became the art director and conductor in 1953. From 1968 to 1983 he was the art director of the Odense Symfoniorkester in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. With the Silesian Philharmonic, Odense Symfoniorkester and other orchestras, Stryja toured many European countries, as well as the United States, Argentina, Israel, Japan and Cuba. He also conducted at various international music festivals. Stryja also taught conducting in Katowice. In 1979 Stryja founded the

Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors The Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors (Polish language, Polish: ''Międzynarodowy Konkurs Dyrygentów im. Grzegorza Fitelberga'') is one of Poland's premier conducting competitions. Named in honour of Grzegorz Fitelberg ( ...

in Katowice, in 1980 he founded the

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...

International Violin Competition in Odense. In 1984 he was given the academic title of professor. In March 1995 he was awarded Grand Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

by the President

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democrati ...

.Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 3 marca 1995 r. o nadaniu orderów
/ref> K. Stryja was also awarded

Order of Cyril and Methodius The Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius is an award conferred by the Republic of Bulgaria. History It has had three incarnations : * first on 18 May 1909 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria, * second on 13 December 1950 by the People's Republic of Bulga ...

1st Class (

communist Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; bg, Народна Република България (НРБ), ''Narodna Republika Balgariya, NRB'') was the official name of Bulgaria, when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the ...

). Karol Stryja died on 31 January 1998 in Katowice and is interred at the Protestant Cemetery in Cieszyn.

References

Further reading