He studied trumpet and music pedagogy with Malte Burba in Mainz and Guy Touvron in Paris. He continued his studies in contemporary chamber music with Peter Eötvös and Markus Stockhausen at the Cologne University of Music.

Since 1998, he has been a guest with some of the most prestigious international ensembles, working with Anima Eterna Brügge (historical instruments), Ensemble Modern, ensemble recherche, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Musikfabrik, and the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Berlin, under the direction of Pierre Boulez, Sylvain Cambreling, Heinz Holliger, Ingo Metzmacher, Emilio Pomarico, and Hans Zender. He has worked with the composers John Adams, Mauricio Kagel, György Kurtág, Helmut Lachenmann, Wolfgang Rihm, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Furthermore, he is particularly interested in interdisciplinary projects with dance or film such as Wolf by Alain Platel, Potemin by the Pet Shop Boys, and I Am a Mistake by the Belgian artist and choreographer Jan Fabre.

Schwind’s solo CD, Paths – Klangwege, in cooperation with the organist Martin Bambauer, was produced with IFO classics. His other CD productions can be found on EMI, Wergo, ECM, and Deutsche Grammophon.

Since 2003, Markus Schwind has been a member of ensemble ascolta.