Composer, professor for composition at the Hochschule für Musik

Srnka, born in Prague in 1975, studied musicology at the Charles University and composition at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. He is professor for composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne and a sought-after juror at competitions such as the renowned Mahler Competition in Bamberg or the Mauricio Kagel Composition Competition. He is also a member of the Artistic Advisory Board of the Prague Spring Festival, where he founded and co-curates Prague Offspring, a festival which focuses on new music.

Miroslav Srnka’s international breakthrough came in 2016 when his opera South Pole was premiered at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich under Kirill Petrenko, in a production by Hans Neuenfels that featured Rolando Villazón and Thomas Hampson in the title roles.
But even before that, Srnka had received several major commissions and awards, including the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation Composer’s Prize in 2009. His works have been performed by renowned interpreters including the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien and the Munich Chamber Orchestra, by conductors such as Peter Eötvös, Jakub Hrůša, Susanna Mälkki and Cornelius Meister at festivals like Lucerne Festival, Ultraschall Berlin, Wien Modern, Présences Paris, Prague Spring, Musica Strasbourg, Milano Musica, Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Ostrava New Music Days and Contempuls.