Loïc
Schneider
Professeur de flûte traversière
Loïc Schneider will join the HEM as flute professor for the 2027–2028 academic year
An internationally renowned flutist, Loïc Schneider has established himself as one of the most brilliant artists of his generation. Recognised by his peers for his artistic qualities, he has won numerous major competitions, including first prize at the Nicolet Competition in 2006, the Larrieu Competition in 2007 and the prestigious ARD Competition in Munich in 2010 (first prize and audience prize).
These distinctions have taken him to the world's greatest concert halls (Bunka Kaikan, Herkulessaal, Bamberg Philharmonie, Lotte Hall, Taipei National Concert Hall, etc.) and fuelled a particularly remarkable career in Asia, where he performs regularly in China, Korea and Taiwan.
Trained in France in Strasbourg, his hometown, then in Paris at the CNSMDP, he began his orchestral career at a very young age: at only 22, he was appointed principal flute of the Orchestre National de Lorraine, before joining the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva in 2009 in the same position, under the direction of leading conductors.
A sought-after soloist and renowned teacher, he is frequently invited to sit on the jury of major international competitions (Geneva, Nicolet, Cluj). He also gives numerous masterclasses around the world, both in Europe and Asia.
Always passionate about passing on his knowledge, he has been teaching for over ten years at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU).
Louis
Schwizgebel
Professor of Piano
Born in 1987 in Geneva, Louis Schwizgebel studied with Brigitte Meyer in Lausanne and Pascal Devoyon in Berlin. At the age of seventeen, he won the Geneva Competition and two years later, the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York. He then studied at the Juilliard School in New York with Emanuel Ax and Robert McDonald, and in London at the Royal Academy with Pascal Nemirovski. In 2012, he won the 2nd prize at the Leeds Piano Competition and was named a BBC New Generation Artist.
Louis Schwizgebel performs with orchestras such as the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, all the BBC orchestras, all the Swiss symphony orchestras including the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre National du Capitol de Toulouse, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wiener Symphoniker, and the Hungarian National Orchestra.
He has worked with conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Fabio Luisi, Marek Janowski, Vasily Petrenko, Lahav Shani, Joshua Weilerstein, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, Emmanuel Krivine, Robin Ticciati, James Gaffigan, Edward Gardner, Thierry Fischer, Domingo Hindoyan, John Wilson, and Fabien Gabel.
He appears at festivals such as the BBC Proms, Verbier, Lucerne, Gstaad, Progetto Martha Argerich, Festival Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey, Bergen, Usedom, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Rheingau, and Klavier-Festival Ruhr.
Louis Schwizgebel records for the Aparté label (Harmonia Mundi). In 2013, he released his first solo album "Poems," followed by Beethoven's Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Saint-Saëns' Concertos Nos. 2 & 5 with the BBC Symphony. His latest album is dedicated to composer Franz Schubert, featuring Sonatas D845 & 958.
Learn more about Louis Schwizgebel
Florence
Jaccottet
Head of the Music and Movement Department - Rhythmician, teacher, movement artist
Born in Lausanne in 1989, Florence Jaccottet is currently Head of the Music and Movement Department at the Geneva University of Music (HEM), where she has been teaching rhythm, movement technique and composition, and creative experimentation workshops since 2019.
A specialist in the Jaques-Dalcroze method, she has over 10 years' experience in teaching rhythm, acquired in particular at the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute, where she taught a variety of audiences for several years. Her teaching has been recognised with several awards, including a prize for excellence in music theory teaching and the Alethéia Foundation Prize for the creation of ‘Entrée en matières’ (2017), in collaboration with percussionist Michael Chapon.
Florence Jaccottet was trained from childhood in Jaques-Dalcroze eurhythmics at the Lausanne Conservatory. She also studied piano there in Helena Maffli's class, obtaining a Prize for Excellence in 2008. At the HEM Geneva, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Movement (Marguerite Croptier Lange Teaching Prize, 2011), a Master of Arts in Jaques-Dalcroze Pedagogy (Jaques-Dalcroze Institute Prize, 2013), and then a Higher Diploma, obtained in 2019.
Alongside her teaching, Florence Jaccottet is developing artistic research focused on the musicality of improvised movement.
She has a particular interest in contemporary music repertoire, collaborations with composers, and performative and sound experiments. Placed at the heart of her artistic research, the expression of rhythm and musicality of movement through improvisation makes her dance a unique contemporary language.
Also active internationally, Florence Jaccottet is regularly invited to teach, notably in Seoul, Montreal and Beijing.
Andrea
Bandini
Professor of Trombone
Andrea Bandini began his music studies in 1973 at the Music School of Siena in Italy and obtained his trombone diploma in 1980 at the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Music in Florence. In 1978 he joined the Italian Youth Orchestra under the direction of Franco Ferrara.
In 1981, he decided to perfect his skills at the Geneva Conservatory of Music in the class of Roland Schnorhk, where he obtained the 1st prize for virtuosity with distinction in 1985. The same year, he won the 1st prize at the Riddes Competition, the 3rd prize at the Markneuenkirchen Competition and the following year the bronze medal at the Bordeaux International Festival of Young Soloists.
Since 1986, Andrea Bandini has been a member of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and has been appointed solo trombone until 2011. From 1984 to 2008 he was a member of the contemporary music ensemble, Contrechamps, an ensemble with which he was fortunate enough to rub shoulders with the greatest contemporary music composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Invited as a jury member in the most important international trombone competitions, Andrea Bandini has been teaching at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 1999. Andrea Bandini is also regularly invited to participate in masterclasses and brass festivals throughout the world. He is also a consultant for the " Free-flow Valve " system for trombone, invented by Rene Hagmann, owner of the " Servette-Musique " shop in Geneva.
Andrea Bandini bought his first slide trombone and his first classical music record in Florence in 1976. It was a recording of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande by Ernest Ansermet. After having listened to it many times, Andrea Bandini announced to his father that he would one day perform with this orchestra.... 10 years later, he joins the OSR.
Learn more about Andrea Bandini
Moudja
Cugno
Coordinateur Master musique à l'école / Maître d'enseignement en Transcréations
Moudja Cugno est musicien, auteur, compositeur, interprète, ingénieur du son et pédagogue. Pianiste, guitariste et chanteur, il développe une pratique artistique plurielle, nourrie par la création, la production musicale et la scène.
Cette expérience artistique et technique constitue le socle de son engagement pédagogique. Titulaire d’un Bachelor et de deux Masters en pédagogie musicale, il enseigne depuis plus de vingt-cinq ans, dont douze années au sein du Département de l’Instruction publique à Genève.
En 2025, il est nommé maître d’enseignement en transcréation à la Haute école de musique de Genève et devient coordinateur de la filière Master Musique à l’école. Il y conduit une réflexion de fond sur la formation des futur·e·s enseignant·e·s, articulant pratique artistique, ingénierie du son, outils numériques, pédagogie et réalités du terrain scolaire.
Son travail s’inscrit dans une perspective plus large de défense de la place de la musique dans l’école et dans la société, et accorde une importance centrale à la construction de l’identité professionnelle de l’enseignant·e de musique, dans ses dimensions artistique, pédagogique, éthique et humaine.
Il est également mandaté pour une mission de concertation avec l’IUFE, visant à aligner les référentiels de compétences et les contenus de formation entre les deux institutions.
Il mène actuellement un travail de recherche sur les dimensions sensibles et transformatrices de l’éducation musicale, à la croisée des pratiques artistiques, des sciences de l’éducation et des enjeux contemporains. Il a été publié dans une revue universitaire, nommé pour un prix de pédagogie à la HEP Vaud, et participe au groupe de travail sur l’intelligence artificielle en éducation mandaté par la DGEO.
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.
Máté
Szucs
Professor of Viola
Máté Szücs, a Hungarian-born violist, has had an award-winning career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral instrumentalist.
Máté served as principal violist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 2011 to 2018, where he also performed as a soloist in Bartók's Viola Concerto in September 2017.
At the age of seventeen, Máté switched from violin to viola and graduated with highest honors from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and the Royal Conservatory of Flanders in Antwerp. He further pursued studies at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo, Belgium, graduating with highest distinction.
As a chamber musician, Máté has been a member of various ensembles including the Mendelssohn Ensemble, Con Spirito Piano Quartet, Trio Dor, Enigma Ensemble, and Ensemble "Fragments". He has collaborated with renowned musicians such as Janine Jansen, Frank-Peter Zimmermann, Christian Tetzlaff, Vadim Repin, Ilja Gringolts, Vladimir Mendelssohn, László Fenyő, Kristof Baráti, István Várdai, Camille Thomas, Kirill Troussov, and Julien Quentin.
In addition to solo performances with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, he has appeared with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, Bamberger Symphoniker, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, where he also served as principal violist.
Since 2006, Máté has been a regular faculty member at the Thy Chamber Music Festival in Denmark and taught at the Britten-Pears Festival in Aldeburgh, England from 2012 to 2014. He taught for two years at the University of Music in Saarbrücken, from 2014 to 2018 at the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, from 2015 to 2018 at the Hanns Eisler University of Music in Berlin, and in 2015-2016 at the Academy of Music in Budapest.
Máté conducts masterclasses worldwide, including in New York, Los Angeles, Michigan, London, Berlin, Brussels, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, and Tokyo.
Since 2018, he has been a professor of viola at the Haute école de musique de Genève.
Learn more about Máté Szücs
Gérard
Metrailler
Professor of trompet
Beginning his musical journey at the Harmonie de Chalais and later becoming a member of the Brass Band 13 Étoiles, Gérard Métrailler continued his musical studies at the Conservatoire de musique de Genève under Mario Alberti, and later with Michel Cuvit, earning a Diploma with highest honors in 1985 followed by a First Prize in Virtuosity in 1988. Even before completing his studies, he was appointed as a substitute principal trumpet player with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in 1987.
In Geneva, he won the 2nd prize at the International Music Performance Competition in 1987 and the 2nd prize at the Maurice André Competition in Paris in 1988. He also received the Bronze Medal at the International Festival of Young Soloists in Bordeaux in 1989.
His repertoire includes major trumpet concertos by composers such as Haydn, Hummel, and Tomasi, but he also emphasizes works by Swiss composers like Hindemith, Zbinden, and Schmidt. He excels in pieces for trumpet and chamber orchestra or organ by Albinoni, Bach, Tartini, and Vivaldi.
Currently, Gérard Métrailler is a trumpet player with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, principal trumpet of the contemporary music ensemble Contrechamps, and a member of the Quintet du Rhône.
Gérard Métrailler conducts masterclasses in Switzerland, France, Italy, New Zealand, and Brazil. He has been a professor of trumpet at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 1994.
Learn more about Gérard Métrailler.
Sébastian
Jacot
Professor of flute
Sébastian Jacot joins the HEM as flute professor for the 2026–2027 academic year
Sébastian Jacot is an internationally renowned flutist, recognised for his demanding artistic career and unique musical approach. Born in Geneva, he trained with Jacques Zoon and began his professional career at the age of eighteen as assistant principal flute with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He was then appointed principal flute with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, followed by the Berlin Philharmonic.
A winner of major international competitions – the Kobe International Flute Competition, the ARD in Munich and the Carl Nielsen Competition – he pursues a career as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician on the major stages of Europe, Asia and the Americas, collaborating with many leading conductors and ensembles.
Alongside his concert activities, he is deeply committed to teaching. He has taught at the University of the Arts in Bremen, the Hanns Eisler Hochschule in Berlin and the Karajan Academy, and regularly gives masterclasses internationally. He has also carried out extensive work in the field of contemporary music, notably with the Ensemble Contrechamps in Geneva. His teaching is based on a holistic approach that integrates body awareness, movement and fidelity to the musical text, informed by a concrete knowledge of current professional realities.
Fabrizio
Chiovetta
Professor of piano
Born in Geneva, with Swiss and Italian nationality, Fabrizio Chiovetta studied with Dominique Weber, John Perry, and Paul Badura-Skoda, becoming a favored disciple of the latter. He has given numerous concerts in Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East (Sommets Musicaux and Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Lisztomanias, Victoria Hall, Berlioz Festival, Schloss Elmau, Tonhalle, Princeton Piano Festival, NCPA in Mumbai, National Center in Beijing, Oriental Art Center in Shanghai).
He has performed under the direction of Gábor Takács-Nagy, Arie van Beek, Mikael Toms, and Diego Matheuz. He is also a highly sought-after chamber musician, performing with partners such as the Belcea Quartet, Patrick Messina, Henri Demarquette, Benjamin Appl, Gautier Capuçon, Lise Berthaud, Pierre Fouchenneret, Camille Thomas, Alexandra Conunova, Sarah Nemtanu, Silvia Careddu, Sophie Karthäuser, Marc Coppey, Samuel Hasselhorn, and Werner Güra.
He premiered Tristan Murail's solo piano piece "Le rossignol en amour" and made the first recording of chamber works by Arvo Pärt, Jan Rääts, and André Previn. Also an improviser, he collaborates with musicians from various backgrounds (Vincent Ségal, Grégoire Maret, Marthe Keller).
His recordings for Palexa, Claves Records, and Aparté of works by Schumann, Schubert, Haydn, Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven have been praised by critics (Diapason, CHOC de CLASSICA, FonoForum, American Music Guide).
His latest Schumann album was awarded an "Editor's Choice" by Gramophone and a 10/10 by Classics Today.
Fabrizio Chiovetta has been teaching at the Haute école de musique de Genève on the sites of Geneva and Neuchâtel since 2009.
"His playing is distinguished by its elegance, sense of balance, and refinement." - France Musique
Learn more about Fabrizio Chiovetta.
