born in Prague in 1975, he studied musicology at the Charles University and composition at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. His international breakthrough came in 2016 when his opera South Pole was premiered at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich under Kirill Petrenko, in a production by Hans Neuenfels featuring Rolando Villazón and Thomas Hampson in the main roles. 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 Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Czech Philharmonic, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, and Münchener Kammerorchester, at events such as Ultraschall Berlin, Wien Modern, Présences Paris, Prague Spring, Musica Strasbourg, Milano Musica, Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Ostrava New Music Days, and Contempuls. His short opera Wall, based on a work by Jonathan Safran Foer, was premiered at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin in 2005, and in 2006/2007 he was the Composer for Heidelberg at eater Heidelberg. In 2011, his chamber opera Make No Noise premiered at the Bavarian State Opera, and Jakub Flügelbunt, a “comic book” for three singers and orchestra, received its first performance at the Semperoper in Dresden. In 2017, the Dialogues Festival in Salzburg presented a comprehensive portrait of the composer with numerous events and premieres. For its 100th season celebrations in 2018/19, the Los Angeles Philharmonic commissioned Srnka to write the piece Overheating. The concert series Musica Viva in Munich presented moves 01 & 02 (2015), and premiered Speed of Truth with Jörg Widmann, clarinet, and the Bavaria Radio Choir and Symphony Orchestra conducted by Susanna Mälkki (2019). Srnka has collaborated for many years with Quatuor Diotima, which has performed his quartets across Europe and issued a portrait CD with chamber music under the Naïve label. 

The 2019/20 season sees his first collaboration with the Czech Philharmonic, which, under Peter Eötvös, performs move 01 and move 03 in their Czech premieres. There will also be the first performance of a new work for harpsichord and orchestra, performed by Mahan Esfahani, François-Xavier Roth and the Gürzenich-Orchester in Cologne. Milky Way, commissioned by ECHO (European Concert Hall Organisation), has its premiere in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with trumpeter Simon Höfele as soloist, with further performances in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Cologne Philharmonic, Luxembourg Philharmonic, the Müpa Budapest, The Sage Gateshead, St Lukes in London, Gulbenkian in Lisbon, Auditori in Barcelona, Konserthuset Stockholm, Vienna Konzerthaus, Porto, Brussels, Baden-Baden, and Birmingham. In 2019, Srnka was appointed professor of composition at the High School of Music and Dance in Cologne. 

Selected works (since 2005): Moldau Remixed for oboe, viola and harp (2005), Wills wohl einmal hinübersehn? for ensemble (2005), Magnitudo 9.0. for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and percussion (2005), Wall, chamber opera (2005), ta větši, one variation on the final scene of Jenůfa for piano (2006), Když mne stará matka, Struna naladěna, Dvořák song arrangements for soprano, piano and orchestra (2006), Maria’s Choice for flute, clarinet, two saxophones and percussion (2006), Prostý prostor/Simple Space for cello and harmonic instrument (2006), Kráter Brahms for cello and string orchestra (2007), Reading Lesson for orchestra (2007), Fictitious Hum for oboe, clarinet, piano and string quartet (2007), Reservoirs for ensemble (2007), Dreizehn Lieder for voice and piano to texts from Jurek Becker’s postcards (2007), Pouhou vlnou/Qu’une vague for piano quartet (2008), Fan Faire for brass and percussion (2009), Coronae for horn (2010), Tree of Heaven for violin, viola and cello (2010), Escape Routines for clarinet, violin, viola, cello and harp (2010), A Variation for cello (2010), Assembly for ensemble (2011), Engrams for string quartet (2011), Make No Noise, chamber opera (2011), Jakub Flügelbunt... und Magdalena Rotenband, oder: Wie tief ein Vogel singen kann, comic book for three singers and orchestra (2011), Here with You for violin and cello (2011, rev. 2016), Listening Eyes, soundtrack for an installation by Kateřina Vincourová (2012), Eighteen Agents for 19 string instruments (2012), Piano Concerto (2012), My Life without Me for soprano and ensemble (2008–13), track 02 for piano (2014), track 01 for violin and piano (2014), No Night No Land No Skyfor chamber orchestra (2014), docudrama01 – Orph & Eury for wind trio (2014), Origami for accordion (2015), move 01/move 02 for orchestra (2015), South Pole, opera (2015), move 03 for orchestra (2016), Future Family for string quartet (2017), Emojis, Likes and Ringtones for piano trio (2018), Triggering for harpsichord (2018), Overheating for ensemble (2018), Speed of Truth for clarinet, choir and chamber orchestra (2019), Milky Way for trumpet (2019).