Friedrich Kettschau studied horn in Hamburg with Prof. Ab Koster as well as history and school music. He passed his concert exam with distinction. He was engaged as principal horn in Schwerin, Oldenburg, Flensburg and Dortmund; since 2001 he has been deputy principal horn of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra.
Numerous sideline engagements have taken him to the Semper Opera, the German Symphony Orchestra in Berlin, the NDR Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, and - with the natural horn - the Munich Chamber Orchestra, among others. He was a guest with the Dresdner Kapellsolisten, the Virtuosi Saxoniae, the KOB and the ensemble "brass partout".
Already during his studies he taught the horn class at the music high school "Stormarnschule" in Ahrensburg and was tutor of the horn class at the HfM Hamburg. Since 2005 he has been a lecturer at the Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" in Dresden; he also works as a lecturer for the German-Danish Brass Academy, the two orchestras of the TU Dresden and for the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie.
In 2016, the Dresden Academy of Music appointed him professor.