He received his first drum lessons from Ralf Baumann at the KMS Heinsberg. In 1999, at the age of 18, he won first prize in the “Contemporary Music” category at the “Jugend musiziert” competition. From 2002 to 2009, Kurley studied in the percussion class of Prof. C. Tarcha at the Cologne University of Music. He was a scholarship holder of the Orchestra Academy of the Aachen Symphony Orchestra.
He regularly performs with ensembles such as the Niederrheinische Sinfoniker, the Kinderoper Köln, Ensemble Kontrast, and the Bochum RuhrTriennale (B.A. Zimmermann, “Die Soldaten”). From 2009 to 2011, he was a member of the renowned “Ensemble Garage” in Cologne, where he premiered works by young composers. Since 2010, he has been regularly collaborating with the German Chamber Academy Neuss and the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra.