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.
Patrick
Beaugiraud
Professor of Baroque Oboe
Patrick Beaugiraud studied oboe with César Ognibène, Jacques Chambon, Maurice Bourgue, and Heinz Holliger, before playing for two years with the Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon.
He then dedicated himself more particularly to the interpretation of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic repertoires on original instruments. Appreciated by the best Baroque ensembles, he is notably sought after by the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, Les Musiciens du Louvre, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, the Bach Collegium Japan, and the Ricercar Consort. His discography is rich with recordings of oboe concertos by Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn, and numerous Bach cantatas, under the direction of Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki, Sigiswald Kuijken, or Leonardo Garcia Alarcon. More recently, he has recorded Handel's cantatas, Mozart's quartet with oboe, and Couperin's "Les Goûts Réunis." He is also a founding member of the wind quintet Le Concert Impromptu.
Holder of the State Diploma, he has taught modern oboe at the music schools of Macon, Montélimar, and the CNSM of Lyon before joining the Haute école de musique de Genève to teach Baroque oboe.
Gerardo Gustavo
Vila
Professor of Chamber Music – Coordinator of Chamber Music (NE)
Born in Buenos Aires, Gerardo Vila showed remarkable talent from a young age. He developed an intense musical career, earning the diploma of "National Superior Piano Professor" from the National Conservatory of Music and winning six first prizes, including the "Vicente Scaramuzza" competition, which allowed him to perfect his skills in Europe.
He continued his studies at the Conservatoire de Genève with Maria Tipo, where he obtained the first prize in virtuosity with distinction and the Henry Broillet prize. Later, he worked with Karl Engel at the Conservatory of Bern and participated in masterclasses with Louis de Moura Castro, György Sandor, Tatiana Nikolayeva, Vlado Perlemuter, and Maurizio Pollini.
Winner of numerous international piano competitions, he received, among others, the first prize at the "Maria Canals" competition in Barcelona, the second prize at the "Alessandro Casagrande" competition in Terni/Italy, and the "World Piano Competition" in Cincinnati/USA.
Vila has undertaken numerous tours in Europe, Latin America, and the United States, performing in venues such as Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Espace Pierre Cardin in Paris, Théâtre Roma in Warsaw, Kleine Musikhalle in Hamburg, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Kaufleutensaal in Zurich, University Hall in Helsinki, Omni Hall of Mirrors in Cincinnati, Casino de Berne, Casino Kursaal in Interlaken, Max-Joseph-Saal in the Residenz in Munich, Fondation Pierre Gianadda in Martigny, Salle Métropole in Lausanne, Slovak Philharmonic Hall in Bratislava, Herkulessaal in Munich, and the Sydney Opera House.
He has performed as a soloist with renowned orchestras such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Perugia Orchestra, the AMSA World Symphony in Cincinnati, the Barcelona City Orchestra, the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, and the Bern Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductors including Arpad Gerecz, Jun Märkl, Albert Rosen, Frank Cramer, Dennis Burkh, Jörg Peter Weigle, Miguel Gómez Martínez, Christian Arming, Laurent Gendre, Carlos Kalmar, Hans Zender, and Michel Tabachnik.
Gerardo Vila has had the privilege of performing in recitals with the prestigious pianist Karl Engel and playing in the Camerata Lysy with Sir Yehudi Menuhin. He possesses extensive experience in chamber music, having played with Ana Chumachenko, Alberto Lysy, Radu Aldulescu, Rachel Harnisch, Alexandru Gavrilovici, Thomas Friedli, Patrick Demenga, Gyula Stuller, Marcio Carneiro, Karl Engel, and Davide Bandieri.
For many years, he has given masterclasses in Switzerland, Romania, and Latin America.
Vila is a member of the ensemble "I Salonisti" and the 676 NuevoTango Quintet. He continues to perform as a soloist and with various chamber music ensembles.
He has made several recordings for VDE-Gallo, Zytglogge, Vox, Naxos, and Brillant Classics.
Since its inception, Vila has been a professor of chamber music at the Haute École de Musique de Genève, Neuchâtel site, where he also serves as the coordinator.
Learn more about Gerardo Gustavo Vila
Tamaé
Gennai Deveaud
Professor of Instrumental Improvisation - Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics - Jaques-Dalcroze Solfège
Tamaé Gennai was born in Geneva, where she began her musical training at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze from a young age. In 2007, she graduated with a Master of Arts (Jaques-Dalcroze Pedagogy, receiving the Conseil d’Etat Prize and the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze Prize). She continued her studies in solfège and counterpoint at the Haute école de musique de Genève, obtaining her advanced solfège certificate in 2008. She furthered her piano and pedagogical training with Robert Kaddouch in Paris.
Tamaé teaches music and movement to diverse audiences (parents-children, adolescents, seniors, the psychiatric department of HUG, etc.), and in 2019, she received the Diplôme Supérieur in the Jaques-Dalcroze method, allowing her to teach the method to professionals. On this occasion, she was awarded the Aletheia Foundation Prize for her group choreography. She teaches eurhythmics, solfège, pedagogy, improvisation, and performance creation at the Haute Ecole des Arts de Berne. Since 2021, she has also been teaching regularly in Bucharest.
In addition to her career as a pedagogue and teacher, Tamaé performs as a musician and singer on stages in Switzerland, France, and Sweden with singer and guitarist Jackson Wahengo (traditional music of Namibia) and writes and directs numerous multidisciplinary shows (music, dance, theater) with the Compagnie TaMiErO. In 2019, she was awarded a writing grant from the Swiss Society of Authors for her children's show "L’enfant do," which was premiered at the Petit Théâtre de Lausanne.
Dedicated to linking her stage and pedagogical skills to serve audiences with limited access to the arts, she has created several performance projects in the slums of Kolkata and Mumbai, in Geneva's Villas Yoyo, and within the creativity workshops of the IJD.
Learn more about Tamaé Gennai Deveaud.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
