He studied voice formally at the Akademie für Alte Musik Bremen with John Potter and at the Musikhochschule Köln with Mechthild Georg.
In 1999, he performed the part in a recorded concert of Bach's St Matthew Passion as part of the festival Musikwochen Weserbergland, with choirs and orchestra of the Marktkirche, Hameln [de], alongside Hans-Christian Hinz as the vox Christi, Veronika Winter, Gabriele Binder and Gotthold Schwarz, conducted by Hans Christoph Becker-Foss.
[4] In 2003 he was the Evangelist in a recorded performance of Bach's St John Passion as part of the Bach-Tage Wuppertral, with Wolfgang Kläsener conducting the Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke and the orchestra of the Immanuelskirche.
[5] In 2000 Ciolek performed Bach's Mass in B minor with La Petite Bande conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken, a production which went on tours to Australia and South America.
[2] The soloists, Elisabeth Hermans, Midori Suzuki, Patrizia Hardt, Petra Noskaiová, Knut Schoch, Jan van der Crabben and Stephan MacLeod, also formed the choir (OVPP).