Born in 1963 in Ebersbach. In 1974–81 he studied the saxophone, flute, clarinet and piano at the Ebersbach Music School, followed by studies in 1983–87 at the Hochschule Hanns Eisler in Berlin. He continued his studies in the US and Canada (1992) and in 1995–97, studied the bass clarinet under Armand Angster at the Strasbourg Conservatoire.
He has played in duo with Bert Wrede (1987–99), was a member of the Vielharmonie orchestra (1987–95), the BakaMutz Quartet (1991–98), Kammerensemble Neue Musik in Berlin (1994–), the
Nabicht–Kupke–Ullmann clarinet trio (1998–2002), Anubis Trio (2008–), Berlin Saxophone Quartet (2008–), Lo fre Trio (2009–), Vessels Ensemble (2010–), and Fosil (2011–). He has partnered musicians such as Michael Alperin, Vladimir Volkov, Ernst Ludwig Petrowsky, Daniel Humair, Palle Danielsson, Jerry Bergonzi, Joachim Kühn, Misha Mengelberg, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Anthony Braxton, Peter Kowald, Elliott Sharp, Fred Frith, and various ensembles including Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Modern. He has appeared at music festivals in Cracow, Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Donetsk, Frunze, Warsaw, Prague, Rostock, Leipzig, Paris, Nevers, Toulouse, Mulhouse, Le Mans, Lausanne, Vienna, Rome, Stockholm, Ghent, Bath, New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, Seattle, Mexico City, Monterrey, Witten, and Berlin.
Currently he focuses on modern music, composing, improvising, and increasingly performing his own works and those of other composers. Since 2007 he has been playing a Selmer contrabass clarinet thanks to the support of Bruno Waltersbacher.
