Born in New York City, Strongin grew up in
Darien, Connecticut. He studied both music and biology at
Harvard University and
Bard College. He specialized in the field of entomology and after graduating from college worked for the
American Museum of Natural History where he identified multiple species of rare beetles. From 1942 to 1946 he served in the
United States Army. After the end of
World War II he pursued studies in the flute and music composition at the
Juilliard School and the
Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. During his time at Columbia in the 1950s, several of his compositions were premiered in New York, including his
Suite for Unaccompanied Cello and an
Oboe Quintet. From 1963 to 1972 he wrote music criticism for
The New York Times where he was a champion of new music. He died of
leukemia at St. Joseph's Hospital in
Asheville, North Carolina in 1998 at the age of 79. ==Sources==