Rodolphe
Schacher
Professor of Writing Practice - Analysis - Harmony - Counterpoint
Franco-Swiss composer and pianist Rodolphe Schacher was born in France in 1973. Schacher pursued his musical studies in Paris, Geneva, and Zurich, under the guidance of Michael Jarrell, Thierry Escaich, Gerald Bennett, and Ulrich Koella.
He has been awarded five first prizes (harmony, counterpoint, Renaissance counterpoint, fugue and forms, and 20th-century music) at the CNSM in Paris and received the composition and theory diploma with honors, as well as the concert diploma in chamber music from the Zurich University of the Arts.
Alongside his artistic activities, Schacher teaches analysis and writing at the Haute école de musique de Genève, writing at the Haute école de musique de Lausanne, and taught composition until June 2015 at the Zurich University of the Arts.
Alexander
Rozhdestvenskiy
Professor of Violin
Sasha Rozhdestvensky is considered one of the finest Russian violinists of today; Yehudi Menuhin described him as "one of the most talented and refined violinists of his generation."
He studied at the Central School of Music in Moscow, the Moscow Conservatory, the Paris Conservatory, and the Royal College of Music in London. Sasha Rozhdestvensky has performed internationally with renowned orchestras such as the Bayerische Staatsorchester, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of La Scala, Mariinsky Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, and worked with conductors like Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Valery Gergiev, Theodor Guschlbauer, Vernon Handley, Louis Langree, Jacques Mercier, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Gerard Schwartz, Yuri Simonov, Christopher Warren-Green, and Vladimir Jurowski.
He has recorded for several labels: Chandos, where he recorded Alfred Schnittke's Concerto Grosso No.6 written especially for him and Viktoria Postnikova. For Nimbus, he recorded Shostakovich's Concerto No.1 and Glazunov's Concerto with his father. He recorded the complete works for violin and piano by Ravel for Praga Digitals, and for Delos, he recorded the complete works for violin and piano by Tchaikovsky with pianist Josiane Marfurt, Shostakovich's sonatas with Jeremy Menuhin, the world premieres of Myaskovsky, Shebalin, and Nechaev's sonatas with Viktoria Postnikova, and most recently the world premiere of John Mayer's concerto with the BBC Orchestra for FHR.
Sasha Rozhdestvensky has been a guest at major festivals such as the BBC Proms (London), Tanglewood, Schleswig-Holstein, Gstaad, Colmar, Ravinia, Florida, Lockenhaus, Montreux, and Rheingau, and has performed in prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Barbican and Festival Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Berlin Philharmonie, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Salle Pleyel and Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Mann Auditorium in Tel-Aviv, and La Scala in Milan, always with great success.
Among his chamber music partners are Marc Coppey, Gary Hoffman, Steven Isserlis, Christian Ivaldi, Josiane Marfurt, Jeremy Menuhin, Kun Woo Paik, Michel Portal, Viktoria Postnikova, and Michael Rudy.
Sasha Rozhdestvensky's commitment to contemporary music is highlighted by his close relationships with composers such as Alfred Schnittke, Arvo Pärt, Sofia Gubaidulina, Giya Kancheli, and Ian Venables.
Additionally, he is also dedicated to traditional Latin American music with the ensemble "Ambar" (albums "El Diablo Suelto" for Delos and "O voo da mosca" for FHR).
Learn more about Alexander Rozhdestvenskiy
Katharina
Rosenberger
Professeure de composition
Les œuvres de la compositrice Katharina Rosenberger emmènent leurs auditrices et auditeurs vers des lieux inconnus. Née à Zurich en 1971, l’artiste choisit une approche interdisciplinaire et des combinaisons inusitées. Ses travaux s’assimilent des domaines et des médias artistiques tels que la vidéo, les arts plastiques ou le théâtre. Son art du son ainsi que ses sculptures sonores constituent des défis aux habitudes auditives et attirent l’attention sur la façon dont nous percevons la musique et les œuvres d’art.
Katharina Rosenberger a fait ses études au prestigieux Berklee College of Music de Boston, à la Royal Academy of Music de Londres et à la Columbia University de New York. Depuis 2018, elle est professeure à l’University of California de San Diego où elle a déjà enseigné auparavant la composition et l’art du son. En 2021, elle obtient un poste de professeure de composition à Lübeck. En 2019, Katharina Rosenberger reçoit la très renommée bourse Guggenheim.
Les œuvres de Katharina Rosenberger ont reçu de multiples récompenses ; son projet « VIVA VOCE » a été soutenu par l’Office fédéral de la culture et son album « TEXTUREN », interprété par l’ensemble new-yorkais Wet Ink, a reçu le prestigieux Copland Recording Grant ainsi que le prix de la deutsche Schallplattenkritik. On peut découvrir les œuvres de Katharina Rosenberger lors de festivals internationaux. Assister physiquement à leur exécution est une expérience qui aiguise durablement les sens.
Leonardo
Garcia Alarcon
Professor of Maestro al Cembalo - Professor of Elements of Choral Conducting (for Maestro al Cembalo) - Madrigal Ensemble
Argentinian conductor, harpsichordist, and composer Leonardo García Alarcón has become a sought-after figure by major musical and opera institutions, from the Opéra de Paris to the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Grand Théâtre de Genève, where he began his career.
After studying piano in Argentina, Leonardo García Alarcón moved to Europe in 1997 and joined the Conservatoire de Genève in the class of harpsichordist Christiane Jaccottet. Under the guidance of Gabriel Garrido, he ventured into Baroque music. In 2005, he founded his ensemble Cappella Mediterranea to explore Italian, Spanish, and South American Baroque music, a repertoire that has since expanded significantly. In residence at the Festival d’Ambronay, he achieved his first successes there, notably with the 2010 rediscovery of an oratorio by Michelangelo Falvetti: "Il Diluvio Universale." That same year, he took the direction of the Chœur de Chambre de Namur, recognized as one of the best Baroque choral ensembles today, and in 2014, he founded the Millenium Orchestra, focusing primarily on the works of Handel.
Leonardo García Alarcón is also credited with the rediscovery of numerous operas by Cavalli, such as "Eliogabalo" at the Opéra de Paris in 2016, "Il Giasone" in Geneva, "Elena" and "Erismena" at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2017, and at the Opéra de Dijon: "El Prometeo" by Antonio Draghi in 2018, for which he rewrote the missing music of the third act, "La Finta Pazza" by Francesco Sacrati in 2019, and "Il Palazzo Incantato" by Luigi Rossi in late 2020, before its revival in Nancy and Versailles at the end of 2021.
In 2022, he conducted a new production of Lully's famous "Atys," staged and choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj in Geneva and then in Versailles. Shortly after, he conducted Bach’s "St. Matthew Passion" with Cappella Mediterranea at La Seine Musicale and the Dijon auditorium, receiving high praise from critics. He returned to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in July with the successful production of Monteverdi’s "L'Incoronazione di Poppea," directed by Ted Huffman. In September 2022, he made his debut conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam for their annual gala, performing Handel’s "Acis and Galatea" (orchestrated by W.A. Mozart). This year also marked a new chapter in his career with the creation of his oratorio "La Passione di Gesù," his first major contemporary composition, warmly received by audiences at the Festival d’Ambronay and Victoria Hall in Geneva, with upcoming performances at the Festival de Saint-Denis and Grand Manège de Namur.
As a conductor and harpsichordist, he is invited to festivals and concert halls worldwide. In November 2018, he conducted Monteverdi’s "Orfeo," directed by Sasha Waltz, at the Staatsoper Berlin and is a regular guest of Les Violons du Roy in Canada, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and the Gulbenkian Orchestra. He was recognized as the best conductor in the 2019 Forum Opéra rankings after his triumphant direction of "Les Indes Galantes" at the Opéra Bastille.
Leonardo García Alarcón divides his time between France, Belgium, his native South America, and Switzerland, where he obtained citizenship. He places great importance on education, serving as a professor of the Maestro Al Cembalo class at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 2002.
In 2020, he took on the directorship of La Cité Bleue, a 300-seat performance venue in Geneva currently under renovation, set to open in 2024, with its programming beginning in 2023 with an initial "off-site" season.
His prolific discography is widely acclaimed by critics. In 2021, he released "Rebirth" (Sony Classical) with Sonya Yoncheva; "Lamenti & Sospiri" (Ricercar) with Mariana Flores and Julie Roset; Monteverdi’s "Orfeo" (Alpha Classics) with Valerio Contaldo, and "Bach before Bach" (Alpha Classics) with violinist Chouchane Siranossian. In 2022, he released Handel’s "Semele" with Millenium Orchestra and the Chœur de Chambre de Namur (Ricercar), followed by the world premiere recording of Sacrati’s "La Finta Pazza" (Versailles Spectacles). In 2023, "Amore Siciliano" (Alpha Classics), a project he conceived from popular and scholarly music of 17th- and 18th-century Italy, is set to be released.
Leonardo García Alarcón is a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.
Learn more about Leonardo García Alarcón.
Denis
Rouger
Professeur de direction de chœur
Denis Rouger est reconnu pour la riche sonorité de ses ensembles et la finesse de son interprétation.
Il a fait ses premiers pas musicaux au sein d’une famille parisienne de musiciens et a ensuite étudié au Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris
ou il a remporté des premiers prix en harmonie, fugue et contrepoint. Pendant 20 ans, il a été professeur et chef de chœur à l’Université Paris-Sorbonne et pendant 10 ans il a assuré la direction des chœurs de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.
Il est maitre de chapelle honoraire de l’église de La Madeleine à Paris.
En Allemagne, il a travaillé avec de nombreux ensembles et a ainsi été invité à
diriger différents chœurs de radio, le Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, le Chœur Régional des Jeunes de Bade-Wurtemberg, ainsi que l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Stuttgart. Des concerts l’ont conduit en Italie, aux Pays-Bas, au Canada, en Russie, dans les Emirats Arabes Unis et en Suisse (Festival de Lucerne). Il donne des masterclasses en Suède, en Bulgarie, en France, en Allemagne et en Suisse.
Depuis 2011, Denis Rouger est professeur de direction de chœur à la Musikhochschule (Haute école de musique) de Stuttgart. Le chœur de chambre de la Musikhochschule qu’il a créé à l’automne 2011 a remporté en 2014 le premier prix au Concours choral international de Mosbach (Allemagne).
En dehors de son travail de chef de chœur, il compose et arrange le répertoire mélodique français et allemand pour chœur. Les CD "Kennst du das Land ...,
... wo die Zitronen blühn (Carus) et Rencontre – Begegnung" (Carus/SWR) qui présentent ces arrangements ont été salués par la critique. En 2025 sortira un disque avec les œuvres du compositeur contemporain Philippe Mazé en coopération avec la radio SWR et le label Coviello. En coopération avec les éditions Carus, il a publié le recueil Musique chorale française qui s’est vu décerner en 2019 le Prix allemand de la meilleure édition musicale ≪ Best Edition ≫.
En 2016, Denis Rouger a créé le figure humaine kammerchor (www.figurehumaine.de) avec lequel il se produit régulièrement en concert lors de festivals de renom. À partir de septembre 2024 il enseigne également à la Haute école de musique de Genève.
On devrait faire faire un apprentissage à chaque futur chef de chœur auprès de Denis Rouger.
[…] Même dans le plus grand fortissimo, le geste de Rouger reste rond. Une „technique de battue anguleuse“ n’existe pas chez ce magicien du son. Le résultat est un jaillissement constant de sons, différencié de façon très variée. […]Peter Skobowsky, Rems-Zeitung
Patrick
Genet
Professor of violin
Born in Lausanne, Patrick Genet began playing the violin at the age of five and achieved virtuosity in the class of Thomas Füri. He then furthered his studies with R. Shevelov and A. Grumiaux.
In 1976, he was awarded first prize at the Swiss Jeunesses Musicales competition. He also won the soloist prize from the Swiss Musicians' Association. During his distinguished career as a soloist, Patrick Genet has performed under conductors such as Armin Jordan, Emmanuel Krivine, Uri Segal, and Thierry Fischer. He served as the concertmaster of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra from 1987 to 1990.
Chamber music is the cornerstone of Patrick Genet's career. As a founding member of the Musiviva Trio, he won first prize at the Colmar competition. He also co-founded the Quatuor Sine Nomine, with which he regularly performs. The quartet was awarded first prize at the Evian Competition in 1985 and won the press prize at the Borciani Competition in 1987. Numerous recordings document the quartet's work, including Schubert collections on the Cascavelle label, Brahms programs on Claves, and the quartet "Ainsi la nuit" by Henri Dutilleux for Erato.
From 1980 to 1995, Patrick Genet taught at the Conservatory of Fribourg. Many of his students continued their studies in Basel, Vienna, London, or Bloomington, while others were engaged by the Tonhalle Orchestra or the Zurich Opera. As a professor of chamber music at the Haute École de musique de Lausanne, he has been teaching violin at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 1995.
Learn more about Patrick Genet.
Lise
Berthaud
Professor of Chamber Music - Professor of Viola (NE)
Lise Berthaud was born in 1982 and started studying the violin at the age of 5. She studied with Pierre-Henry Xuereb and Gérard Caussé at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris and was a prize winner of the European Young Instrumentalists Competition in 2000. In 2005, she won the Hindemith Prize at the Geneva International Competition. She was short listed by the Victoires de la Musique Classique 2009 as “Révélation de l’Année” (Newcomer of the Year).
Lise Berthaud is unanimously praised as an outstanding figure on the international music scene. She has performed in various prestigious concert venues throughout the world (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Het Concertgebouw, Baden Baden Festspielhaus, Elbphilharmonie, Musikverein, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, The Sage Gateshead, Philharmonie de Paris, Moritzburg Festival, Schwartzenberg’s Schubertiade Hohenems, Rencontres Musicales d’Evian) with such artists as Renaud Capuçon, Baiba Skride, Lauma Skride, Harriet Krijgh, Julian Steckel, Daishin Kashimoto, Eric Le Sage, Augustin Dumay, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Emmanuel Pahud, Gordan Nikollich, Martin Helmchen, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Alina Ibragimova, Veronika Eberle, Christian Poltera, Quatuor Ebène, the Modigliani Quartet.
As a soloist, Lise has played with all BBC orchestras, including for her BBC Proms Debut in 2014 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Andrew Litton. Other solo engagements include the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Orchestre National de Lyon, les Musiciens du Louvre, Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Sao Paulo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Orchestre de Chambre de Wallonie, Hong-Kong Sinfonietta, Hallé Orchestra, and various orchestras in France, with conductors like Sakari Oramo, Pascal Rophé, Fabien Gabel, Emmanuel Krivine, Andrew Litton, François Leleux, Paul Mc Creesh, Marc Minkowski, Leonard Slatkin who invited Lise to perform and record (for Naxos) Harold in Italy with the Orchestre National de Lyon as part of the orchestra’s Berlioz complete works recording for Naxos.
During the 2013-2015 period Lise was part of the prestigious BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists Scheme which allowed her to perform with all BBC orchestras and record a great amount of repertoire both live and in studio.
After taking part in Eric Le Sage’s successful recordings of Schumann and Fauré complete piano chamber music works, she released her first solo album in 2013 with pianist Adam Laloum under the French Aparté label. The disc featuring works by Brahms, Schumann and Schubert was unanimously praised and won several awards in France.
In 2018-2021 she took part in the recording of Brahms’ complete chamber music for B-Records with Eric Le Sage, Pierre Fouchenneret, François Salque and others, which has been critically acclaimed since then.
Her passion for contemporary music has also lead her to collaborate with various composers, including Philippe Hersant, Thierry Escaich, Henri Dutilleux, Gyorgy Kurtag, Guillaume Connesson, Florentine Mulsant or Eric Tanguy
Learn more about Lise Berthaud
Alberto
Bocini
Professor of Double Bass
Alberto Bocini initially studied guitar before dedicating himself to the double bass. He holds a diploma from the Cherubini Conservatory in Florence, obtained in the class of Alfredo Brandi, and further honed his skills under the guidance of Franco Petrachi. He has won numerous competitions, including a first prize at the Valentino Bucchi Competition, a first prize at the Torneo Internazionale della Musica, and a second prize at the Nicanor Zabaleta String Competition.
As a soloist, he has performed with many ensembles, including the orchestra of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, I Solisti Veneti, and the Rome and Lazio Orchestra. In chamber music, he has played with Yuri Bashmet, Vadim Repin, Patrick Gallois, Natalia Gutman, and Eric Ruske. The Newport Music Festival honored him by inviting him eleven times, up until 2004.
Alberto Bocini is a member of the Bass Gang, a double bass quartet with an extremely heterogeneous repertoire, which they present with virtuosity and humor. This ensemble has enjoyed great success and has been acclaimed during tours in Japan and Korea. The group recorded a DVD for the independent label NBB Records, a label founded by Alberto Bocini, for which he has recorded extensively.
An eclectic and enthusiastic musician, Alberto Bocini does not hesitate to push the boundaries of his repertoire. He recorded for Denon Braevissimo a concerto for double bass and strings by Ennio Morricone and dedicated an album to the music of the English rock band Genesis with a trio named After Genesis. Currently the principal double bassist of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under the direction of Zubin Mehta, Alberto Bocini teaches double bass at the Haute école de musique de Genève.
Learn more about Alberto Bocini
Heidi
Brunner
Professor of Singing - Audition and Competition Preparation
Native of Lucerne (CH), Heidi Brunner studied singing, organ, and conducting in Lucerne, Basel, and Zurich.
At the age of 17, she was already an organist and choir director before beginning her singing career at the age of 28.
Her first engagements as an opera singer led her to Biel, where she debuted in the title role in Rossini's "La Cenerentola." She then took engagements in Basel, Innsbruck, and Dessau. She performed at the Komische Oper in Berlin (La Cenerentola and Charlotte in Werther, among others) before being engaged as a resident artist at the Staatsoper and the Volksoper and Theater an der Wien in Vienna from 1996 to 2008 (where she performed roles such as La Cenerentola, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Idamante in Idomeneo, Die Sekretärin in Der Konsul by G.C. Menotti, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Zerlina and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Nicklausse in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Sesto, Anio and Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, Adalgisa in Norma, and the title role in La Périchole).
In 1998, she made her debut in Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo" at the Opernfestspiele in Munich and the Wiener Festwochen. She reprised the role of Idamante at the Klangbogen Festival at the Theater an der Wien and performed at venues such as the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and the Salzburg Festival.
She has appeared in recitals and concerts at venues such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Berlin, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Santiago de Compostela, Milan, Pesaro, Lyon, Paris, Lucerne, Zurich, Basel, Bern, Lisbon, Frankfurt, Bergen, Helsingborg, Turin, and Munich.
Her repertoire expanded with roles in Schreker's "Irrelohe" and Schmidt's "Notre Dame" at the Volksoper in Vienna, Hindemith's "Mathis der Maler" at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Schoenberg's "Erwartung" at the Komische Oper Berlin and at the Musikverein in Vienna.
She made her debut in the roles of Brangäne in "Tristan und Isolde" at the Amsterdam Opera and the Liceu in Barcelona, Marie (Wozzeck) at the Staatsoper Hamburg, Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito) and Marta (Tiefland) in Vienna, Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) and Madame Lidoine (Dialogues des Carmélites) at the Theater an der Wien, Kundry (Parsifal) at the Teatro Regio Turin, Giulietta (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) and the Mother in "Kullervo" by Aulis Sallinen at the Frankfurt Opera, and Sieglinde (Die Walküre) at the Staatsoper Hamburg. In 2015, she made her debut as Mère Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites). That same year, she sang the mezzo-soprano part in Verdi's Requiem in Vienna and performed "The Seven Deadly Sins" by Kurt Weill in the Forbidden City in Beijing.
She has worked with renowned conductors such as Marco Armiliato, Ivor Bolton, Thüring Bräm, Bertrand de Billy, Alfred Eschwé, Lawrence Foster, Gabriele Ferro, Leopold Hager, Friedrich Haider, Thomas Hengelbrock, René Jacobs, Philippe Jordan, Alois Koch, Ingo Metzmacher, Franz Welser-Möst, Hervé Niquet, Arnold Oestmann, Kirill Petrenko, Markus Poschner, Helmuth Rilling, Peter Schneider, Marcello Viotti, Sebastian Weigle, Simone Young, and Alberto Zedda.
Heidi Brunner has recorded numerous CDs, including "Jubilate Deo," "Te Deum" by De Lalande (ERATO), "Così fan tutte," "Don Giovanni," and "Le Nozze di Figaro" (SONY/BMG), excerpts from "Tristan und Isolde," and a solo album with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Since 2020, Heidi Brunner has been a Professor of Singing at the Haute école de musique de Genève, where she regularly gives masterclasses.
Learn more about Heidi Brunner
Olivier
Rogg
Coordinator of the Music in Schools Orientation, Professor of Modern Improvisation, Transcreations, Ensemble Practice of Contemporary Music
Pianist, composer, and teacher, Olivier Rogg has practiced improvisation from a young age and has accumulated diverse experiences in all areas of contemporary music. In 1983, he obtained his Master of Music Diploma from the Conservatory of Geneva and won the 1st prize for jazz improvisation at the Lyon Festival as well as the Rochette Prize for organ improvisation in Geneva.
A member of several groups, including the renowned collective Piano Seven, he has recorded around twenty CDs and performed in Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Lebanon, Egypt, Brazil, the United States, China, Thailand, and Singapore.
He composes for various ensembles, from piano duos—notably with Alaskan Lee Maddeford—to the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, for which he wrote "Météorythmes" in 1999 and "Cyclomotion" in 2010 with his colleague and friend Philippe Genevay.
With his wife Cécile Polin Rogg and lyricist Janry Varnel, he has co-written more than 150 songs, mostly intended for children's choirs.
Deeply involved in music education in public schools, Olivier Rogg teaches at Collège du Renard and the Haute école de musique de Genève, where he is the coordinator of the "Music in Schools" program.
Learn more about Olivier Rogg
