Music From Prague, written by the Czech Native Karel Husa, was inspired by Czechoslovakia's occurring events in 1968. One day he found himself sitting on a dock at his cottage in America while listening to the BBC broadcast about the Prague Spring on the radio, which led him to write Music For Prague commemorating the 1968 reform movement. These unique pieces of art are a tradition for the wind ensemble repertoire. This music stands out specifically to Czech nationals for its distinct sounds, such as bells, trombones, and sirens. 

Karel Jaroslav Husa learned to play the violin and the piano in his early youth, and following his final examination at high school, he enrolled in the Prague Conservatory. After World War II, Husa was admitted to the Prague Academy's graduate school, once finishing his studies in conducting at École Normale de Musique de Paris of the Conservatoire de Paris.

In 1954, Karel Husa came to America and became a citizen after five years. In 1954, he was designated to the faculty of Cornell University, where he was Kappa Alpha Professor until his retirement in 1992. He was also a lecturer at Ithaca College from 1967 to 1986. 

Karel Husa conducted many major orchestras, including those in Paris, London, Prague, Zurich, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, Boston, and Washington. Among countless recordings embracing his works, he made the first European disc of Béla Bartók's Miraculous Mandarin with the Centi Soli Orchestra in Paris. Every year, Husa explored university campuses to guest-conduct and lecture on his music. He performed in all 50 states, and his String Quartet No. 3 won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969. 

Karel Husa is the 1993 recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition presented by the University of Louisville for his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. Thereby, Husa is best recognized for his Music for Prague 1968, a work in memory of Czechoslovakia's 1968 Soviet bloc invasion. His work was presented over 7,000 times worldwide and has become part of the modern repertory. On February 13, 1990, Husa accomplished a long-time dream when he conducted the orchestral version of Music for Prague 1968 in Prague.