Ralph de Souza was born in Bombay and began violin lessons with his father, and later with Melbourne Halloween. At the age of ten, Ralph attended the Yehudi Menuhin School and then went to the Curtis Institute in the USA to study with Ivan Galamian and Jaime Laredo.
In 1977, Ralph won the Royal Overseas League Competition in London and in 1985, he spent the summer playing chamber music at Marlboro and became determined to turn to professional quartet-playing. By coincidence, very soon after, there came the phone call, which led him eventually to join the Endellion String Quartet in 1986.
Ralph has had a close association with the International Musicians’ Seminar in Prussia Cove and has also returned to the Menuhin School for several years as a teacher.