The German bass-baritone, Ekkehard Abele, studied church music (organ) and singing at the music schools of Freiburg and Saarbrücken, and last with Kurt Widmer in Basel, where he finished his with the soloist diploma. He had further studies with Eugène Rabine in Weimar, with whom he is still connected in a regular co-operation. In 1996 He received the Bach award at the International J.S. Bach Competition in Leipzig.

Apart from the usual concert repertoire, Ekkehard Abele dedicates himself to solo and ensemble singing (he was a member of the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart for many years) of both Early music and contemporary music. He devotes much of his time to the performance of modern and contemporary music, and has appeared in concerts of works by Nono, Stockhausen, Rihm and Mauricio Kagel. He performed Ligeti's Aventures et Nouvelles Aventures at the Staatstheater Saarbrücken. A regular co-operation connects him with conductors such as Thomas Hengelbrock and Hermann Max and ensemble like the Young Opera Company Freiburg or the Freiburger Barockorchester, Ensemble Movimento, Orlando-di-Lasso-Ensemble, Himmlischen Cantorey and Deutschen Kammerchor. With them he appeared in opera productions at the Wiener Festwochen and at the Münchner Opernfestspielen, as well as at Festivals in Utrecht, Luzern, Dresden, Ansbach and Leipzig. In June 2004 he participated in a performance of J.S. Bach’s Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244) conducted by Hermann Max at the Israel Festival Jerusalem.