Daniel
Zea Gomez
Atelier d'expérimentation créative / Électroacoustique Jaques-Dalcroze
Designer, sound artist and composer Daniel Zea lives and works in Geneva. His artistic universe revolves around instrumental and electroacoustic music, hybrid performances combining video, sound, gesture capture systems and physical computing, as well as programming.
He regularly collaborates on interdisciplinary projects (visual arts, choreography, performance) and teaches at the Geneva University of Art and Design. He is involved in the artistic direction of the Vortex ensemble, working both as a composer and performer of electroacoustic music.
Very active in the field of education, he has been a reference artist for multidisciplinary artistic residencies at the Royaumont Foundation and, more recently, at GRAME, a centre for musical creation in Lyon.
His piece The Fuck Facebook Face Orchestra won the 2016 Giga Hertz Preis from the ZKM (Karlsruhe, Germany), and in 2017, Pocket Enemy was selected for the International Rostrum of Composers. In 2023, he will receive the Liechti Foundation's Sound Arts Award.
In his work, he reflects critically on our society's relationship with digital technology, sometimes with a certain political commitment that is not without humour. However, his musical interests are not limited to contemporary experimental creation. He is also passionate about folklore. On the Colombian side, he explores the repertoire of the Caribbean region (cumbia, fandango, porro) with Palenque la Papayera. A lover of traditional music from south-eastern Mexico, he is a member of the groups Cocoxoca and Gema y sus Valedores.
Daniel Zea was a guest at the Les Amplitudes Festival in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 2024.
Daniel Zea's website
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
Antonello
Mazzucco
Professeur de trombone basse
Antonello Mazzucco graduated from the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome. At the same time, he attended the Konservatorium für Musik in Bern, studying under P. Bucher.
In the United States, he studied with C. Vernon, bass trombonist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, A. Jacobs, brass professor, and J. Alessi, principal trombonist with the New York Philharmonic. In Italy, he continued his studies with A. Conti, principal trombonist with the Florentine May, now principal trombonist with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia.
For about three years, he played in the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana as a bass trombonist, and for short periods with the Filarmonica della Scala and the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome.
In 1995, he won the competition for tenor trombone and bass trombone with the Rai National Symphony Orchestra, where he still works today.
He has been working for over ten years at the Fondazione Fossano Musica, a music institute where he also organises masterclasses with international teachers.
He is active in the field of chamber music as a member of the Spilimbrass quintet, with whom he has also recorded a CD.
Diego
Chenna
Professor of bassoon
Diego Chenna joins the HEM as bassoon professor for the 2026–2027 academic year
Diego Chenna studied bassoon at the Turin Conservatory of Music with V. Menghini and at the Stuttgart University of Music with S. Azzolini. At the same time, he was a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the European Union Youth Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado, who also invited him to play in the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and to collaborate with the Orchestra Mozart Bologna as a teacher, principal bassoonist and soloist. In 1998, he won first prize in the Fernand Gillet International Competition in the United States.
As a soloist, he has performed with the Italian National Radio and Television Orchestra, the Orchestra da camera di Mantova, the Camerata Bern, the Camerata Zürich, the Moscow Soloists, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra, the Kammerakademie Potsdam and the Beethoven Academie (Antwerp), among others. In 2006, the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, he performed the Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra K. 191 with the Kremerata Baltica. As a chamber musician, he has performed with Heinz Holliger, Alexander Lonquich, Yuri Bashmet, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Maurice Bourgue and many others, and has been invited to major international festivals.
A tireless researcher, he devotes himself to the interpretation of forgotten works for bassoon, contemporary music and the development of new instrumental techniques, as well as the use of live electronics in his concerts. Many composers have dedicated works to him.
Philippe
Spiesser
Professor of Percussion - Chamber Music with Percussion - Coordinator of the Percussion Class
More than just a percussionist, Philippe Spiesser is an atypical and captivating musician. Coming from a family of musicians, he studied percussion at the Conservatoire de Musique de Strasbourg. Winner of the European Young Talents Competition in 1997, he has continually evolved by embracing new experiences and collaborating with creators from diverse backgrounds.
A universally recognized pedagogue, Philippe Spiesser has been a professor of percussion and coordinator of the percussion class at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) since 2009. Previously, he taught at the Alfonso X University in Madrid, the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Palma de Mallorca, and the Conservatoire National de Région de Perpignan. He gives numerous masterclasses around the world: Juilliard School in New York, McGill in Montreal, Royal Academy of Music in London, Esmuc in Barcelona, Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Santa Cecilia in Rome, Musikhochschulen in Stuttgart, Mannheim, and Karlsruhe, CNSMDP in Paris, China Conservatory and Central Conservatory in Beijing, Superior Conservatories in Shanghai, Shenyang, and Dalian, Hong Kong University of Music, Lima University of Music, and Izmir University of Music.
Since 2012, Philippe Spiesser has led several research projects on new musical technologies and gesture capture, such as the GeKiPe project developed at HEM in partnership with IRCAM Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Ensemble Flashback. Through this work, he is the dedicatee and performer of numerous immersive and multimedia shows written for this gesture capture tool. In 2022, he created "Virtualis," the new concerto for solo percussion, ensemble, video, and gesture capture using the Gestrument tool, invented and developed by Jesper Nordin. His research has also led him to work with the Centro Ricerche Musicali in Rome, where he developed a solo repertoire with two acoustic instruments, the SkinAct and the Feed Drum, treated electronically and invented by Michelangelo Lupone.
A polymorphic musician, he performs worldwide in numerous international festivals such as Electronic Music Week in Shanghai, Percussion Festival in Beijing, Música in Lima, Arte Scienza and RomaEuropa in Rome, Ars Musica in Brussels, Musica in Strasbourg, Présences in Paris, Ritmo Vital in Madrid, Gaida Festival in Vilnius, Italy PAS in Pescara, CERN Festival and Archipel in Geneva, Aujourd’hui Musiques in Perpignan, Memmix in Palma de Mallorca, Ponte in Ulm, and Frequenz in Kiel, where he promotes new repertoire and creations by Ph. Hurel, P. Jodlowski, J. Nordin, A. Schubert, M. Matalon, B. Mantovani, Ph. Manoury, B. Letort, K. Narita, JM. Lopez Lopez, M. Lupone, and A. Vert. Philippe Spiesser is also invited to perform as a soloist with orchestras such as Lemanic Modern Ensemble, Norbotten NEO, Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Camerata de France, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, and Shenyang Symphony Orchestra.
He serves as a jury member for numerous international competitions, including Shanghai IPEA, Beijing PAS, Palma IMC, Italy PAS, and was the president of the jury for the International Geneva Competition in 2019.
Learn more about Philippe Spiesser
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
Romain
Guyot
Professor of clarinet
Romain Guyot won the prestigious Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York in 1996.
Noticed at the age of seventeen by Claudio Abbado while playing in the European Union Youth Orchestra, he served as principal clarinet of the Opéra National de Paris (1991-2001) and later with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (2003-2006). In 2008, he was chosen as the new principal clarinet for the renowned Chamber Orchestra of Europe (COE).
Romain Guyot is an artistic advisor for Buffet Crampon and Rico International.
Since 2009, he has been a professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève.
Learn more about Romain Guyot.
Sophie
Gent
Professeure de violon baroque
La violoniste australienne Sophie Gent a étudié au Conservatoire royal de La Haye avec Ryo Terakado. Vivant actuellement en France, Sophie se produit régulièrement, comme premier violon, avec les ensembles les plus renommés du moment, comme le Collegium Vocale de Gand (Philippe Herreweghe), le Freiburger Barockorchester, Ricercar Consort (Philippe Pierlot), Pygmalion (Raphaël Pichon), Arcangelo (Jonathan Cohen), entre autres. Elle joue en récital et en musique de chambre, souvent avec Bertrand Cuiller, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Jean Rondeau, Maude Gratton et Pierre Hantaï.
Professeure de violon baroque au Conservatoire d’Amsterdam de 2011 à 2014, elle a également donné des masterclasses au Conservatoire d’Anvers, à l’Atelier de musique ancienne de Jérusalem, à l’Abbaye aux Dames de Saintes. Depuis 2012, elle enseigne à l’Académie de musique ancienne à Vannes et, depuis 2022, au Stage de musique ancienne à Cluny (Ensemble Masque). Elle est actuellement professeure de violon baroque à la Haute école de musique de Genève.
Sophie joue un violon de Jacob Stainer de 1676.
Jacques
Zoon
Professor of flute
Jacques Zoon studied at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam with Koos Verheul and Harrie Starreveld, and later at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada with Geoffrey Gilbert and András Adorján. He won second prize at the Willem Pijper Competition in 1981 and was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Jean-Pierre Rampal Competition in 1987.
He began his career as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands (Nationaal Jeugd Orkest) and the European Union Youth Orchestra, before being appointed Principal Flute of the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, and subsequently the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, where he served from 1988 to 1994. Between 1989 and 1997, he was Principal Flute in the Royal Concertgebouw orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In 1997, he became Principal Flute of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the following year was named Musician of the Year by the Boston Globe. He is currently Principal Flute of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and the Orchestra Mozart, both under the direction of Claudio Abbado.
Today, Jacques Zoon performs worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician, collaborating with leading orchestras across the globe. He has recorded extensively for Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, Decca, Chandos, Boston Records, Vanguard Classics, Schwann-Koch, and Pony Canyon, among others. In 1991, he received the Edison Award with pianist Bernd Backman for their recording of contemporary Dutch music for flute and piano.
Alongside his performing career, he has held numerous teaching positions: at the Rotterdam Conservatory (1988–1994), Indiana University (1994–1997), Boston University and the New England Conservatory (1997–2001). He also teaches chamber music at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, and since 2002 has been Professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève.
Learn more about Jacques Zoon.
Béatrice
Martin
Professor of Harpsichord
Born in Annecy, Béatrice Martin began studying harpsichord at the age of six. Her musical journey led her to study with prominent harpsichordists such as Christiane Jaccottet at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, Kenneth Gilbert, and Christophe Rousset at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. She obtained numerous first prizes with highest honors and completed an advanced cycle of studies there. She also received valuable guidance from Huguette Dreyfus, Ton Koopman, and Lars-Ulrik Mortensen during masterclasses.
In 1998, she won first prize at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, along with the Audience Prize and the Bärenreiter Prize. The following year, she was named a Revelation by ADAMI at MIDEM in Cannes.
Highly regarded for her skills as a continuo player, she has performed at numerous festivals and with a variety of ensembles. She has been a close collaborator with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants for twenty years.
Recognized for her teaching abilities, Béatrice Martin established the harpsichord class at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Barcelona and currently serves as a guest professor at the Juilliard School in New York.
In 2000, Béatrice Martin co-founded Les Folies françoises with Patrick Cohën-Akenine, actively contributing to its development.
Learn more about Béatrice Martin.
