Hans-Jürgen Höfele comes from Karlsruhe, attended the Musikgymnasium there and then studied bassoon at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg i. Br.
He received his first temporary contract at the Stadttheater Freiburg and then moved permanently to the Staatstheater Darmstadt in 1991. He is a prizewinner of the German University Competition and the International Chamber Music Competition in Martigny. Since 2001 he has taught bassoon and bassottino (children's bassoon) at the Akademie für Tonkunst (music school department). In addition to his work with the orchestral wind players of the music school orchestra, he has supervised numerous chamber music studies.