He was once referred to as “one of the greatest hopes of Czech music”, by Pràce in 1948. This award-winning teacher, composer, and conductor who rose in stature during the second half of the 20th century started composing by the time he was 12 years old. Though he might not be as greatly ranked among his contemporaries, his compositions still have greatly impacted the world of music. Karel Husa was born on August 7, 1921 in Prague, Czech Republic. He showed talent at an early age as his mother encouraged him to learn how to play both the violin and the piano. Though his original plan was to go to an engineering school, all the engineering schools were shut down at the time due to the result of Nazi Occupation. He decided to change his plans and turn his love of music into a profession. To do this he enrolled in the Prague Conservatory of Music. While there he studied composition with Jaroslav Ridky, and conducting with Metod Dolezil and Pavel Dedecek. After completing his …show more content…
He stayed in Europe a few years after this, but in 1954, musicologist Donald Grout invited him to America. While there he accepted a faculty position at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. At Cornell University he taught composition while leading the student orchestra. He also continued writing compositions whilst also guest conducting with appearances around the world, including all 50 states. Becoming a citizen of the United States in 1959, he continued teaching at Cornell University until he retired in 1992. However, he still continued to composing music, publishing a piece as recent as 2007. During his time he received many great awards including the Pulitzer Prize, the Sudler Award, the Grawemeyer Award, and the Friedheim Award. His most cherished award though, was the Czech Republic's State Medal Award of Merit, First Class, given by President Vaclav Havel to him in