Karel Husa was born in Prague on 7 August 1921. He studied composition and conducting at the Prague Conservatory and at the Prague Academy of Music from 1941 to 1945. During this time he composed his first work "Sonatina", which was published in 1943. In 1946, he was granted a five-year scholarship by the French Government, which allowed him to continue and complete his studies at the National Conservatory and at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. Among his teachers were Arthur Honegger, Nadia Boulanger, Jaroslav Ridky and conductor André Cluytens.  Husa's first international success came in 1950, when his I. String Quartet was performed at the ISCM Festival in Brussels.

In 1954, Husa was appointed to the Cornell University in America for a professorship. There, and later also at Ithaca College he taught composition until 1992. To this very day, Husa visits the campuses of music schools and universities to give guest lectures on his music.

He received honorary doctorates from many American and Czech universities and music academies, among them the New England Conservatory and Masaryk University.

Husa was elected Associate Member of the Royal Belgian Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1974 and joined the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1994. Furthermore, he conducted many major orchestras all over the world, for instance, the Cento Soli Orchestra in Paris and the Hamburg Radio (NDR) Orchestra, and many other Symphony Orchestras, including those in New York, London, Singapore and Tokyo.

His works earned him numerous awards and recognition world-wide. In 1969, Husa was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his String Quartet No. 3. For his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Husa received the 1993 Grawemeyer Award. Further recognitions include the Guggenheim Fellowship and the Lili Boulanger Award, the Bilthoven Contemporary Music Prize, both for his I. String Quartet, and the Sudler International Award, just to name a few. With over 7000 performances, his Music for Prague 1968 became part of the modern repertory. His works have been performed by major orchestras all over the world. In 1995, Husa was awarded the Czech Republic’s highest civilian recognition, the State Medal of Merit, First Class, and in 1998, he received the Medal of the City of Prague.

An American citizen since 1959, Karel Husa now lives and works in Florida.