Vincent
Thevenaz
Professor of Organ - Improvisation (for organists) - Introduction to Music Reading - Music Reading - Music Reading and Transposition - Chamber Music with Organ
Vincent Thévenaz is a professor of organ and improvisation at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève, and the titular organist and carillon player at the St. Peter's Cathedral in Geneva. He is frequently invited for concerts, competition juries, and masterclasses across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
With a comprehensive education spanning organ, piano, classical and jazz improvisation, musicology, music theory, conducting, singing, French and Russian literature, Vincent Thévenaz continuously seeks to invigorate and diversify the organ world. He pushes the boundaries of genres and enriches his interpretations with a profound knowledge of works and their contexts. His repertoire ranges widely from medieval to contemporary and current music of various origins.
Vincent Thévenaz has developed a significant focus on improvisation, exploring the power of the present moment. He practices improvisation in liturgy, concerts, and accompanying silent films. His teaching is enriched by an approach that views written music as an endless source of inspiration and improvisation as a questioning of freedom in interpretation.
As a recognized specialist in the harmonium, he owns a collection of high-quality historical instruments and performs them in recitals and ensembles. His expertise has led him to collaborate with musicians such as Leonidas Kavakos and Yuja Wang, and with the Scharoun Ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic, earning praise from Simon Rattle: "played by you, the harmonium becomes a living and exciting instrument."
He combines the organ with numerous instruments of diverse origins, including classical (violin, flute) and unusual (saxophone, Alpine horn, percussion) sounds, and plays cousin instruments such as carillon, cinema organ, Hammond organ, keyboards, and percussion.
Vincent Thévenaz is also known for his arrangements, transcribing music of various styles for organ or chamber music formations, and collaborating with orchestras and ensembles. He arranged and directed the annual show "Chantons Noël," creating an original setting for traditional melodies. He also arranged a version for ensemble of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition."
In 2009-2010, he performed Bach's complete organ works in 14 concerts, followed by Mendelssohn's organ works in 2017, both receiving great acclaim. His duo "W" with saxophonist Vincent Barras has produced two CDs of original repertoire. He has recorded two critically acclaimed CDs with Sony's Ensemble Gli Angeli Genève (Stephan MacLeod). For the 50th anniversary of Geneva Cathedral's Metzler organ, he produced a CD showcasing the treasures of Geneva composers' organ music.
Vincent Thévenaz collaborates with numerous ensembles and conductors (Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ensemble Contrechamps, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Lausanne Vocal Ensemble, Capella Mediterranea, Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, Valery Gergiev, Heinz Holliger, Michel Corboz, Lawrence Foster, Antonio Pappano, etc.). In 2005, he founded the Orchestre Buissonnier, a young musicians' ensemble, which he regularly conducts.
Learn more about Vincent Thévenaz.
Laurent
Gignoux
Responsable du département des instruments de l'orchestre, coordinateur des Traits d'orchestre et des Traits d'orchestre en section ou en pupitre et préparation aux concours
Laurent Gignoux, de nationalités suisse et française, hautboïste, pédagogue, chef d’orchestre, responsable de projets artistique et pédagogique a été formé dans deux grandes institutions européennes : le Conservatoire national supérieur musique et danse de Paris (CNSMDP) puis à la Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK) - en hautbois, musique de chambre, orchestre, pédagogie et direction d’établissement artistique. Lauréat de concours internationaux et nationaux, soutenu par différentes fondations, il partage sa carrière internationale entre des concerts en soliste, en musique de chambre avec orchestre, plus récemment comme chef d’orchestre. Comme pédagogue, il a été professeur de hautbois et de musique de chambre dans différents conservatoires en France ainsi que l’assistant de Thomas Indermühle à la Musikhochschule de Karsruhe.
Il a côtoyé dans sa carrière, de grands chefs et solistes français et européens – Pierre Boulez, Michel Plasson, Yehudi Menuhin, Emmanuel Krivine, Pinchas Steinberg, Eri Klas, Roberto Alagna, Brigitte Engerer, Shlomo Mintz, José Vandam, Félicien Brut, Ophélie Gaillard - dans de grandes salles et des festivals internationaux.
De 2006 à 2023, à la direction générale et direction musique du Pôle d’Enseignement Supérieur de la Musique et de la Danse de Bordeaux Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Laurent Gignoux s’est consacré à développer cet établissement et a notamment conduit le projet de construction du futur bâtiment.
En 2024, Laurent Gignoux a fondé l’Essentia Orchestra, une formation de chambre de 10 à 15 alumni, musicien-ne-s professionnel-le-s diplômé-e-s d’écoles supérieures, pour partager le grand répertoire symphonique à tous les publics et ouvrir la “musique classique“ à d’autres lieux et territoires.
Daniele
Bragetti
Professor of Recorder
Born in 1965, Daniele Bragetti obtained his diploma in recorder at the Civica Scuola di Musica di Milano and the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam, studying with professors such as Nina Stern, Kees Boeke, Marijke Miessen, and Jeanette van Wingerden.
He regularly performs both as a soloist and with various Baroque and Renaissance music ensembles, including Ensemble Baroque de Limoges (conducted by Christophe Coin), Ensemble Elyma (Gabriel Garrido), Ensemble Concerto (Roberto Gini), Academia Montis Regalis (Andrea de Marchi), and Accademia Claudio Monteverdi (Hans Ludwig Hirsch).
He has played in prestigious venues and important festivals, such as Mito – Settembremusica in Milan, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Musica e Poesia a S. Maurizio in Milan, Tokyo Recorder Festival, I Concerti del Quartetto in Milan, UNESCO per Venezia, Tokyo Opera City, and Casals Hall in Tokyo.
Since 1991, Daniele Bragetti has performed in a recorder duo with Seiko Tanaka, also collaborating with flutists Walter van Hauwe and Antonio Politano. In 2013, he founded the recorder ensemble La Rubertina in Tokyo with Seiko Tanaka.
Daniele Bragetti is also active in the field of contemporary music, with composers such as Michiharu Matsunaga, Luca Cori, and Koji Ueno dedicating numerous works to him.
He has made recordings for Opus 111, Passacaille, Stradivarius, Entrée, Mercury, and Olive Music.
Since 2003, Daniele Bragetti has taught recorder and historical ornamentation at the Civica Scuola di Musica “Claudio Abbado” di Milano. He has been a guest professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève and the Universidad Pontificia de Santiago de Chile.
Since 2016, he has been a professor of recorder at the Haute école de musique de Genève.
Learn more about Daniele Bragetti
Michel
Bellavance
Professor of Flute - Woodwind Chamber Music
Miyazawa artist, the Canadian-Swiss flutist Michel Bellavance has been a soloist in concertos by Nielsen, Ibert, Reinecke, Bernstein, Kabalevski, Liebermann, Mozart, Bach, and Vivaldi with orchestras in Europe and Latin America, including the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru, the Mendoza Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bahia State Symphony Orchestra, and the Maracaibo Symphony Orchestra.
Michel Bellavance has performed at festivals in Switzerland, the United States, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. He has been featured on radio broadcasts by CBC, Radio Suisse Romande, and National Public Radio, and has given recitals in cities such as Prague, Barcelona, Geneva, Madrid, Basel, London, Zurich, Paris, Montreal, Ottawa, Washington DC, New York (Carnegie Hall), Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Lima, São Paulo, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, and Bogotá.
His recordings for Meridian Records, Atma Classique, Brioso Recordings, and SNE have been praised by international critics and reflect his keen interest in new repertoire and lesser-known works.
Alongside his performing career, Michel Bellavance is a flute professor at the HEM – Geneva, and he regularly gives masterclasses in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, notably at the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the Beijing and Shanghai Conservatories, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, as well as at the International Flute Festivals of San Jose and Lima.
Learn more about Michel Bellavance
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
Stephane
Ginsburgh
Professor of Jaques-Dalcroze Piano
Stéphane Ginsburgh has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at numerous international festivals such as Ars Musica, Quincena Musical, ZKM Imatronic, Agora Ircam, Bach Academie Brugge, Ultima Oslo, Darmstadt Ferienkurse, Gaida (Vilnius), Warsaw Autumn, Musica Strasbourg, Klara Festival, and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena.
A tireless explorer of the repertoire and an adventurer in new combinations involving voice, percussion, performance, or electronics, he dedicated himself early on to contemporary music while developing a vast classical repertoire. He regularly performs with the Ictus ensemble and has collaborated with composers such as Frederic Rzewski, Jean-Luc Fafchamps, Stefan Prins, Alec Hall, and Matthew Shlomowitz, premiering their works. He has also worked with choreographers such as Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Enthusiastic about immersive performances, Stéphane Ginsburgh has performed the complete Prokofiev sonatas or the last six Beethoven sonatas in a single evening.
After earning a Master's degree in music, he studied with Paul Badura-Skoda, Claude Helffer, Jerome Lowenthal, and Vitaly Margulis. He was the artistic director of the Centre Henri Pousseur, a studio for mixed and electronic music based in Liège. He holds a Bachelor's degree in the philosophy of science from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and a PhD in Arts from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel.
Stéphane Ginsburgh has recorded about fifteen albums for Sub Rosa, World Edition, Grand Piano (Naxos), and Kairos. His complete recording of Prokofiev's Piano Sonatas, described as a “captivating” and “essential” version (La Libre Belgique), was released by Cypres Records.
Learn more about Stéphane Ginsburgh.
Claude
Gastaldin
Professor of Drums - North Indian Rhythm - Tabla & Konakol
Claude Gastaldin is the author of several works dedicated to the study of rhythm. He graduated with honors in 1986 from the Percussion Institute of Technology in Los Angeles, where he studied with notable musicians such as Ralph Humphrey, E. Toro, A. Acuna, and J. Porcaro. He began his international career in 1985, performing as a drummer with various bands in numerous countries and participating in many recordings.
Currently, he divides his time between his career as a musician and composer through multiple experiences (live performances and studio work) and intense pedagogical activities. In the musical field, he primarily focuses on the group Stoa, which he initiated, and also supports various musicians and artists, particularly Occitan ones, in their projects (Luc Aussibal, J. Privat, B. Manciet, etc.). He also regularly collaborates with Indian musicians N. Battacharya, J. Oumabady, M. Jadhav, and L. K. Sharma, and has recently composed several pieces for percussion quartets and classical orchestras.
Regarding his pedagogical activity: in addition to his position as a professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève and occasional engagements at various educational institutions (Conservatories, Training Centers, Workshops, and Schools), he is the national educational director of the Hohner Sonor Music Academy. He is also a demonstrator artist for a major European drum brand, for which he regularly performs showcases.
Milena
Viotti
Professor of horn
Milena Viotti was born in Lausanne in 1988 and began playing the horn at the age of eight at the Forbach Music School. In 2007, she went to study at the Musik Akademie in Basel before obtaining her Master's degree with Erik Penzel and Christian Lampert in Stuttgart.
In 2010, she joined the prestigious Munich Opera Orchestra, the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, as a high horn player and also played in renowned orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Orchestre de Paris.
Milena Viotti has won numerous prizes in major international competitions, such as the Prague Spring Festival Competition and the Luxembourg Competition.
Passionate about chamber music, she gives a large number of concerts each year with various ensembles in a wide variety of formations. Eager to share her experience and expertise, she participates in numerous workshops and masterclasses in Europe each year. As a teacher, her curiosity for new pedagogical approaches and innovative solutions makes her an educator who is ready to inspire and guide her students towards musical excellence.
Denis
Severin
Professor of Cello
Denis Severin studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow with D. Miller, at the Haute école de musique de Genève with Daniel Grosgurin, and at the Academy of Music in Basel with Thomas Demenga. He earned teaching and soloist diplomas with distinction. He furthered his studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in baroque cello, chamber music, and string quartet under Christophe Coin. He also attended masterclasses with J. Starker, N. Gutman, T. Mørk, A. Bylsma, A. Meneses, G. Hoffman, W. Böttcher, and B. Mate.
An award winner at international competitions, D. Severin has regularly performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the National Orchestra of Ukraine, the European Youth Orchestra, Les Solistes de Kiev, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Pskov (Russia), and the Kharkiv Philharmonic (Ukraine).
As a chamber musician, he plays with numerous ensembles and is frequently invited to festivals in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Serbia, Singapore, Poland, Turkey, and England. His extensive discography includes a Rachmaninov program for cello and piano with Sony and the Brandenburg Concertos with the Swiss Baroque Soloists for Naxos, which was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Since 2006, he has taught cello and chamber music at the International Summer Music Academy at the Château de Beuggen in Germany. He is a regular guest professor for cello and early music at the National Music Academy of Kyiv and the University of the Arts in Kharkiv (Ukraine). He is a cello professor at the Haute école des arts in Bern and leads a cello class at the Haute école de musique de Genève, Neuchâtel site.
Denis Severin plays a Jean-Nicolas Lambert cello from 1750 and a Vincenzo Panormo cello from 1800.
Learn more about Denis Severin
Lucien
Kandel
Professor of Historical Singing - Renaissance Vocal Ensemble
Lucien Kandel, singer and artistic director of the Ensemble Musica Nova, has specialized in early music repertoires after studying classical singing at the CNSMD of Lyon. He honed his skills with Marie-Claude Vallin, Gérard Geay, Dominique Vellard, and others, obtaining his advanced diploma in 1996. He quickly joined prestigious ensembles such as the Huelgas Ensemble, Doulce Mémoire, A Sei Voci, and Les Solistes de Lyon Bernard Têtu.
He has also collaborated with Le Concert Spirituel under Hervé Niquet, Ensemble Jacques Moderne (Joël Suhubiette), and Elyma with Gabriel Garrido. Kandel has participated in numerous contemporary creations, notably with Daniel D'Adamo within Ensemble Poïésis, and has commissioned works from various composers such as Daniele Ghisi, Henry Fourès, and Saed Haddad.
Since 2003, he has led Ensemble Musica Nova, assembling a team of singers to revisit and refine masterworks of the repertoire, including the famous Mass of Machaut. Their recordings have won numerous awards and high praise, including the Diapason d'Or of the Year 2003 and the Editor's Choice from the British magazine Gramophone in 2007.
Since 2011, he has taught historical singing practice at the Haute école de musique de Genève and the DMA. He regularly gives masterclasses in various academies (Royaumont) and conservatories, covering a range from medieval to baroque singing.
Learn more about Lucien Kandel
