Karol Stryja was a Polish conductor and music educator, born in Cieszyn on February 2, 1915. He graduated from a teachers' school in Cieszyn in 1934 and worked as a teacher while studying at the Silesian Conservatory in Katowice, graduating in 1939 as a music educator.
After the Second World War, Stryja continued his musical studies. In 1951 he graduated from the conducting department of the State Higher School of Music in Katowice, where he studied with Grzegorz Fitelberg.
From 1953 to 1990, he led the Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. He was also chief conductor of the Odense Symphony Orchestra from 1968 to 1984. From 1954 he taught at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice, becoming a professor in 1984.
In 1979, Stryja helped establish the Grzegorz Fitelberg International Conductors' Competition in Katowice. The following year, he was one of the founders of the Carl Nielsen International Competition in Odense. His recordings included all of Karol Szymanowski's vocal-symphonic works, including the opera King Roger. He received the Wojciech Korfanty Award in 1998. Stryja died in Katowice on January 31, 1998.