After finishing his studies in composition at the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava he went on to study composition with Martin Smolka in Brno. He also studied at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with Louis Andriessen and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Detlev Müller-Siemens. He was given a scholarship for the international festival Ostrava Days of New Music in 2005 and in 2007. In April 2011 he founded the Dunami Ensemble with young musicians working with new and experimental music, and performed his opera-installation Eve and Lilith at NODO festival (New Opera Days Ostrava) 2012. In 2016 he released a double CD on the Czech label K.I. Records called František Chaloupka: Selected Works 2006–2015 including chamber and orchestra pieces performed by internationally recognized artists and ensembles.