Luboš Mrkvička (1978) has taught composition and theoretical subjects focused on 20th-century compositional techniques at HAMU since 2006. He has also taught composition at New York University in Prague since 2006. After three years of studies at the Prague Conservatory (in the class of Bohuslav Řehoř), he studied at HAMU with Milan Slavický and Marek Kopelent,
completing his PhD in 2009. During his time as a student, he participated in a number of compositional workshops and a study exchange at the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied with David Sawer. He writes only instrumental music, for various ensembles from solo pieces and chamber music to large orchestras. 

Stylistically, he follows the tradition of the structuralist, constructivist avant-garde of the second half of the 20th century. His pieces are regularly performed by leading Czech ensembles specialising in contemporary music (Brno Contemporary Orchestra, Berg Orchestra, MoEns) as well as world-renowned ensembles and soloists (Klangforum Wien, Xasax Saxophone Quartet, Ian Pace, Satoko Inoue). His piece For Large Ensemble, Part D (commissioned by the Prague Spring festival and first performed by Klangforum Wien conducted by Bas Wiegers) gained the Slightly Lower C4 award in 2019 (for the best piece composed by a Czech composer in 2018). Mrkvička’s composition For Large Ensemble, Part F was written directly for Ostrava Days 2021 and premiered during the festival.
 

Saxophone Quartet, Part A – I frequently listen to a wide variety of music. However, even as a student, I noticed that the music I enjoyed began to feel distant from the music I was writing. This is part of the reason I strive to avoid drawing directly from the music I enjoy listening to – not to extend it or provide commentary… I consider listening to music and composing to be two
completely different activities that require a distinct mental framework. Yet when I reflect on the opening sections of my saxophone quartet fifteen years later, I recall how much I was listening to late medieval and early Renaissance music at the time, and I also cannot shake the feeling that this fact is somehow mysteriously embedded in the music. The quartet was composed in 2010, following a commission from the Contempuls festival for the outstanding French-Swiss saxophone quartet XASAX.