Herman Strategier

About the composer

Herman Strategier was born in Arnhem, the Netherlands, in 1912. His father was the organist at the Walpurgis Church, and as a young boy, Herman assisted his father at the organ. He would turn the pages of the musical score and operate the stops. Herman studied at the Institute for Church Music in Utrecht, and at the age of twenty, he became an organist at the St. Anna Church in Nijmegen. In 1935, he succeeded his father in Arnhem.
In 1944, due to World War II and the Battle of Arnhem, Herman had to leave the city. The Mul family in Overveen provided shelter for him, and there he met Jan Mul. After the war, he worked as a conductor and organist in Zeist. Additionally, he taught at the Institute for Church Music and at the conservatories in Rotterdam and Utrecht.
In 1949, Herman was appointed as a Music Theory teacher at the Institute for Music Science and as the organist at the cathedral of Utrecht. He was a composer in the tradition of Hendrik Andriessen, creating a large and varied body of works in which sacred music played a significant role.
Herman Strategier died in 1988. His death was not unexpected to him, as he had already composed his own requiem, which was performed during his funeral.