German Bass-baritone Ralf Ernst began his musical career at the age of 8 as a member of the „Wuppertaler Kurrende“, where he made his solo concert and operatic debut as a boy soprano.

He commenced vocal studies with professor Rheinhard Becker at the  “Musikhochschule Köln (Cologne)“, Germany, where he graduated with distinction.  He continued his studies at the „Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel“, joining the Concert Class of Professor Kurt Widmer in 1991 and graduating in 1995 with the Soloist’s Diploma (the highest degree offered for musicians in the Swiss educational system).  Master-classes with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Hartmut Höll and Mizuko Shirai, Margreet Honig and Burga Schwarzbach have extended his musical education.

His career as a concert singer is wide-ranging and has taken him to lands so varied as Russia, Syria, Australia and Israel as well as most European countries, working with conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, Peter Gülke, Joshua Rifkin, Jesper Christensen, Thomas Hengelbrock and Ton Koopman.

His connections to the „Schola Cantorum Basilensis“ have led to a special affinity to early music and he is currently involved in a far-reaching project dedicated to the re-discovery and CD-documentation of Tyrolean Baroque music with the „Neue Innsbrucker Hofkapelle“.

A prize-winner at national and international competitions (most notably the „International Brahms’ competition“ in Hamburg and the „International Bach Competition“ in Leipzig), Ralf Ernst’s repertoire spans from the Renaissance to contemporary music and is documented by many radio broadcasts and CD recordings.