Stanislaw Pawel Stefan Jan Sebastian Skrowaczewski (Polish: [staˌɲiswaf skrɔvaˈt͡ʂɛfskʲi]; October 3, 1923 – February 21, 2017)[1] was a Polish-American classical conductor and composer.

[3] He gave up any thought of pursuing a career as a soloist when, after a German bombing raid in June 1941, he suffered two broken hands and was also left with nerve damage.

[3][1] During the German occupation, Skrowaczewski worked as a bricklayer, and he studied physics, chemistry and philosophy at the University of Lwów.

While the Cleveland Orchestra was giving a concert in Warsaw in 1957, their music director, George Szell, invited Skrowaczewski to make his American debut the following year.

While in Minnesota, Skrowaczewski lobbied to have Orchestra Hall built, and he also introduced American audiences to the works of many Polish composers, including those of Penderecki, Szymanowski, and Lutosławski.

Commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestral Association to honor the memory of Ken and Judy Dayton, it was premiered at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis in 1996.

[7] He was the father of Paul Sebastien, founder of electronica groups Psykosonik and Basic Pleasure Model, and of Nicholas Skrowaczewski.