Harald Nerat studied viola, composing and conducting at the Academy for Music and the Arts. His subsequent positions included that of principal viola in the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Johann Strauss Orchestra of Vienna, as well as section leader in the Vienna Volkspoer.
Harald Nerat has been a member of the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg since 1979 and in 1986 instituted the Salzburg Mozart Serenades with over 80 concerts each year.