 From 1994 he studied singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München in Munich and attended masterclasses with Kurt Moll and Irwin Gage.While a member of the Prinzregententheater opera school and the Akademietheater he performed in works by Mozart, Nicolai and Henze.In 1998 he received a grant from the Deutscher Bühnenverein, and the following year won the Meistersänger-Wettbewerb singing competition in Nürnberg.