Ralph Ficker was born in the Netherlands. He completed his studies at the Maastricht Academy of Music under Prof. Will Sanders and Willy Bessems. In addition, he had lessons with Professor Markus Maskuniitty in Hannover. During his studies, he was a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra and the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. In 2007 he was awarded a tenured position as 2nd horn player in the Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester Hannover.
Since 2011 he is 2nd Horn player in the State Opera of Hamburg/Hamburger Philharmoniker. In addition, he has participated in projects with the NDR-Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, the Bayerische Staatsorchester München and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam. He also teaches horn at the Hochschule für Musik Theater und Medien in Hannover and manages the Norddeutsche Horntage in Wolfenbüttel, Germany.