Roland Ploeger (1928-2004) studied composition, music theory and church music at the Musikhochschule Detmold and philosophy at the University of Frankfurt am Main. He was a member of the "Barsbüttel Arbeitskreis für Neue Musik" (Barsbüttel Working Group for New Music) and participant of the "Darmstädter internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik" (Darmstadt International Holiday Courses for New Music).
From 1959 to 1963 he lived as a freelance composer, musical writer and critic in Hamburg. After 1963 he worked as a teacher of composition, harmony and acoustics at the Schleswig-Holstein Musikakademie and Norddeutsche Orgelschule (North German Organ School), where he founded the "Musica viva concerts" in 1964.
In 1974 he became the director of the Institute for Musical Education at the Musikhochschule Lübeck. In 1980 he was named Professor and was vice-president from 1981 to 1987. After his retirement in 1993 he continued to teach music theory and composition until 1996. During his tenure he published many respected writings on music theory and acoustics.
