French horn

The French horn class at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) offers a particularly stimulating learning environment.

In addition to the teaching provided by the permanent professors, renowned soloists and chamber musicians as well as experienced teachers, students in the HEM French horn class benefit from the input of internationally renowned artists, who are regularly invited to give masterclasses.

The students benefit from a particularly stimulating environment thanks to the collaborative dynamic between the three professors, who are united by a shared will to enable their students to derive a benefit from their complementary academic careers and teaching programmes.

With students from all over the world, the class’s profile is very international and contributes to the acquisition of a very open vision of the role of horn player and the professional openings it can provide. The atmosphere is one that favours human contact and new friendships.

Besides the individual classes, the opportunities to play in a group are many and varied: orchestra sessions, chamber music, brass ensembles such as the HEM Red Flag brass band, and multi-disciplinary projects. Simulations of orchestra contests are also regularly held. Thanks to the resources at our ‘Centre de musique électroacoustique’ (Centre for electro-acoustic music, CME), they can also experiment with avant-garde styles of music through amplification, the use of effect pedals, etc.

Thanks to the close ties that the HEM maintains with the region’s professional ensembles, our students have numerous opportunities to play in renowned ensembles such as the Orchestre de la Suisse romande (OSR), the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève (OCG) or the Ensemble de musique contemporaine Contrechamps. The richness of the music scene in French-speaking Switzerland, the music-loving public and the numerous patrons mean that there are ample opportunities for engagement, to enrich their practice and develop their network of contacts.

Teachers

Jean-Pierre Berry

Professeur de cor a.i.

Bertrand Chatenet

Professor of Horn

Born in 1990 in Paris, Bertrand Chatenet began learning the horn with Patrice Petitdidier at the Conservatoire de Gennevilliers, then with Jérome Rouillard (horn), Paul Meyer, and Eric Lesage (wind quintet). In 2009, he studied alongside Erich Penzel, Christian Lampert, and Christoph Ess at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart, and in 2013 with Christian-Friedrich Dallmann and Sebastian Posch at the Berlin University of the Arts. Since 2010, he has mainly performed as a soloist with major orchestras such as the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR), the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. He is currently the principal horn of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and an assistant professor at the UDK in Berlin. Learn more about Bertrand Chatenet.

Milena Viotti

Professeure de cor

Milena Viotti est née à Lausanne en 1988 et commence le cor à l'âge de huit ans à l’école de musique de Forbach. En 2007, elle part étudier à la Musik Akademie de Bâle avant d’obtenir son Master avec Erik Penzel et Christian Lampert à Stuttgart.  En 2010, elle intègre le prestigieux orchestre de l’opéra de Munich, le Bayerisches Staatsorchester en tant que cor aigu et joue en parallèle dans des orchestres de renom tels que le Berlin Philharmoniker, le Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ou l'Orchestre de Paris... Milena Viotti a remporté de nombreux prix dans de grands concours internationaux, comme le Concours du Festival du Printemps de Prague ou du Luxemburg. Passionnée par la musique de chambre, elle donne chaque année un grand nombre de concerts avec divers ensembles dans les formations les plus diverses. Avide de partager son expérience et son savoir-faire, elle participe chaque année à de nombreux stages et masterclasses en Europe. En tant qu’enseignante, sa curiosité pour de nouvelles approches pédagogiques et pour des solutions novatrices fait d'elle une pédagogue prête à inspirer et à guider ses élèves vers l'excellence musicale.