He was born into a musical family, and as a young child, studied both piano and flute. Later, he learned the double bass and percussion. He was a student in the flute faculty of the Béla Bartók Music College in Budapest, and later graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy from both the flute and choir conducting faculties. Until 1990 he was a flautist at the Hungarian State Concert Orchestra. He began conducting in the second half of the 1970's, being deputy conductor of the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra, and then choir master of the Székesfehérvár Symphony Orchestra. From 1984, he was the leader of the Budapest Chorus. In 1986, he became a repetiteur at the State Orchestra, a post he only left when he was made choir master of the State Choir (now National Choir). He has performed as a conductor in virtually all of the European countries and has also worked in Japan. He has made numerous recordings for the Hungaroton, Naxos and Portugalsom record companies.