* 1936 Combelle (FR)
Born 7 January 1936 in Combelle, France, now living and working in Ljubljana/Slovenija. He began his career as a violinist and later became an ethnomusicologist/folklorist and composer. He retired in 1995. The son of an emigrant mine worker, Strajnar began his education in France where he attended elementary school and music school. After his family returned to Slovenia in 1946 he attended the grammar school and music school in Kočevje. He then attended schools in Ljubljana including the Secondary Music School. Between 1954 and 1962 he was a violinist in the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. In 1962 he graduated in Romance Languages from the Ljubljana Faculty of Arts and began work at the Music and Folklore Institute of Slovene Academy of Arts and Sciences. He took a second degree from the ethnological and musicological department of the Faculty of Arts in 1989. As well as being a scholar, editor, journalist and collector Strajnar has also remained a composer throughout his career. His contributions to the legacy of Slovene folklore include around 70 arrangements for folk dance groups, music for the theatre, film music, and music for the puppet theatre. Titles include: Kozlovska sodba v Visnji Gori, Martin Krpan, The dead man comes for his sweetheart, and Midsummer Night. He has also provided the music for television films such as The tenth brother, Cyclamen and Agitator and written seven pieces for wind band and numerous arrangements and original works for string quartet, choirs and various chamber ensembles.
