Newton D. Strandberg

Newton D. Strandberg (1921-2001) was born in River Falls, Wisconsin and raised in his youth in mid-America, Iowa. He first attended North Park College (now North Park University) in Chicago and later, in 1983, was awarded an honorary doctorate of Fine Arts from the school. He studied piano and composition with Anthony Donato at Northwestern University, receiving a Bachelor of Music Education in 1942, a Master of Music in Piano Performance in 1947, and a Doctorate of Music in Composition in 1956, the first music degree of its sort to be awarded at Northwestern.

He furthered his studies in composition with the well-known composer and innovator, Henry Cowell at Columbia University and the most influential teacher of our American composers, Nadia Boulanger in Fontainebleau. He received numerous awards and commissions, and was honored with contemporary festivals featuring his music exclusively. He served on the faculty of several universities including Denison University (1947-49), Samford University (1950-54 and again in 1956-67), and Northwestern University (1954-56). In 1967 he joined the faculty of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, where he remained until his retirement in 1997.