Composer, arranger, teacher.

Thorvald Otterström was born 1868 in Denmark, where he received his early musical training. He began his career as a published composer in 1891with “Goassack Lullaby,” which was published in St. Petersburg. After cultivating a successful career in Europe, Otterstrom moved to the United States and continued to publish, teach, arrange, and ghostwrite music. Most notably, Otterström ghostwrote for Martin G. Dumler, a painter and composer of liturgical music. He also published works on music theory, such as Manual of Advanced Harmony and One Hundred Exercises in Five and Six Part Setting.

In addition to his interest in music and music theory, Otterström also had a keen interest in philosophy, literature, and art, which he wrote about extensively to his acquaintances, particularly Helen Heller. His students and friends were devoted to Otterström and engaged with him about both the artistic and the scholarly. Several students at the University of Chicago also sought to preserve his likeness, with photographs, paintings, and sculptures of the composer.

Otterström worked as a composer until his death in 1942.