Education
Degen studied at the Rheinische Musikschule in Cologne and the University of Bonn, writing his dissertation on Baroque librettist Friedrich Christian Bressand.
Degen studied at the Rheinische Musikschule in Cologne and the University of Bonn, writing his dissertation on Baroque librettist Friedrich Christian Bressand.
He later taught theory at the Duisburg Conservatory and later at the Hochschule für Musikerziehung in Trossingen, becoming a professor in 1954. His style resembles Hindemith and uses methods similar to 12-tone composition.