Kálmán Berkes graduated from the clarinet faculty of the Franz Liszt Music Academy, where his teachers were Béla Kovács, György Kurtág, András Mihály, Albert Simon and Frigyes Sándor. He also studied conducting with János Ferencsik and Giuseppe Patané. In 1972, he won the silver medal at the Geneva International Competition, and was a prize winner at chamber music competitions in Belgrade in 1974 and Munich in 1975.   From 1972 to 1993, he was the principal clarinettist of the Hungarian Opera House, the Philharmonia Society Orchestra and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. From 1973 to 1983 he was a member of the Budapest Chamber Ensemble. In 1982, Kálmán Berkes founded the Budapest Wind Ensemble where he is its artistic director, and from 1988 to 1992, was conductor of the Hungarian Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. He has held master classes in the United States, Canada, England, Holland and Finland. Since 1992 he has been a teacher at the Musashino Music Academy in Japan and is principal conductor of its symphony orchestra.   From 2004 to 2006, Kálmán Berkes was permanent guest conductor of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra. He regularly performs in Europe, North and South America, as well as Japan and is a frequent guest at major music festivals. His chamber music partners have included Zoltán Kocsis, Dezső Ránki, András Schiff, Jenő Jandó, Miklós Perényi, Maurice André, James Galway as well as the Takács and Keller Quartets. He has made numerous CD recordings for the Naxos, Decca, Telefunken, Harmonia Mundi and EMI labels. In 1995, he was the joint recipient with György Pauk and Jenő Jandó of a Grammy Prize.