Born in 1985, he studied composition at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. In his radically reduced works, he fundamentally  challenges conventional ways of thinking about music, both in  terms of musical expression itself and the way it is presented. By  stripping a work of all superfluous layers, he seeks to reveal its  essential idea, often eliminating one or more of its most fundamental musical parameters, such as audible sound.

Thanks to his open-minded yet historically aware approach to  composition, Ernst is regarded as one of the most original voices  of his generation. At the same time, his music possesses a distinct  social and intimate dimension, frequently breaking with traditional performance practices and being intended for a single person or realised without the involvement of any musicians.

Private music is the term Ernst uses to describe a series of works  written directly for a reader or a single musician, without any  intention of being performed for an audience.

In 2017, he became the inaugural recipient of the Pelle Prize,  awarded to “a young artist who dares to challenge the standards  of his time.”

Selected works: Mass for a Human Body for two male and  two female performers (2016), Monument for symphony orchestra, female voice and video (2016), Etudes (Book II) for facial  muscles (2016), Monodi (Etude IX) for two performers (2017),  Offertorium: Behandling A, B, C for male and female performers  (2017), Offertorium: Bøn for three male and three female performers (2017), Sangbog, 24 songs for the reader’s imagination  and body (2017), Lovsange for one male and two female performers (2018), Sakramente (Natsange) for one female performer and  three male performers (2018), Interludium for three female and  three male performers (2019), Præludium (Aftensange) for two  female and two male performers (2019), Nocturnes (for a Human  Mind) for the human imagination (2019), ANATOMISK SANGBOG for the male body (2020), Bønnebog: Behandling A for three  performers (2022), Nocturnes (for a Human Body) for male and  female performer (2022), Cantus (Vol. III) for five female and five  male performers (2023), Homages (Songbook II), 24 songs for  the imagination and one psalm (2023), Suite A for violin (2024),  Solo (Cantus II) for two performers and two assistants (2024),  Fantasmagori (Præludium) for hands and facial expressions  (2025), Angelus (Protractum) for neck and facial muscles (2025).