Born in Montjoie, Urhan's father first introduced him to the violin. He was first publicly mentioned in 1804 by Joséphine de Beauharnais, having replaced a violinist for a performance of Joseph Haydn's "The Creation", at the young age of 14. He was sent to work in Paris where he took instruction from Jean-François Le Sueur, master of the chapel of the Tuileries Palace. He also learned from prominent teachers such as François Habeneck, Rodolphe Kreutzer and Pierre Rode. He was invited to join the imperial chapel as a violinist in 1810.