Piano accompaniment

As a crossroads for instrument classes and singing classes, the piano accompaniment class at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) provide fertile ground for musical exchange.

A place of sharing, encounters and confrontation, it offers our students the chance to develop their taste for chamber music and gives them the opportunity to think about the options when it comes to a performance. It also makes it possible to discover an infinite repertoire by exploring every facet of the instrument.

The piano accompaniment course prepares the students for a professional career, either in the concert repertoire, or in the opera repertoire. All the first-year students take the same classes and work on both repertoires. In particular, they take classes in diction, sight-reading, ensemble classes, etc.

In the second year, the students concentrate on their specific field: accompaniment, which covers instrumental and vocal recitals, or the conducting of singing, made up solely of the opera repertoire, and including, notably, participation in a production by the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Throughout the duration of the course, the opportunities to play in public are many and varied, whether at the HEM, or through participation in the rich musical life of the Geneva region, as part of concerts, festivals, and private soirees, but also by giving private classes.

Teachers

Professeur d'accompagnement au piano instrumental et vocal

-- Emmanuel Olivier rejoindra la HEM à la rentrée académique 2025-2026 -- Emmanuel Olivier se produit en soliste ainsi qu'avec de nombreux chanteurs et instrumentistes à l’Auditorium du Musée d’Orsay, à la BNF et à la Cité de la Musique de Paris, aux festivals de Montpellier et d’Aix, aux opéras de Lille, Toulouse et Tours, ainsi qu’en Europe et en Asie. Parallèlement, sa collaboration avec de grands chefs d’orchestre tels que Altinoglu, De Billy, Eschenbach, Eötvös, Gardiner, Haïm, Harding, Nelson, Roth, le conduit naturellement vers la direction d’ouvrages lyriques (Mozart, Strasnoy, Puccini, Hahn, Vaughan Williams...). Un long et fructueux compagnonnage avec Jean-Claude Malgoire l’amène à diriger La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy à de nombreuses reprises, dans des ouvrages de Gluck (avec Philippe Jarrousky), Mozart, Rossini, Poulenc ("La Voix humaine" avec Véronique Gens). Après ses études au CNSM de Paris, il y devient professeur assistant d’accompagnement vocal. Il donne à plusieurs reprises des master-classes sur le répertoire français au Conservatoire Central de Pékin, ainsi qu’à la Musikhochschule de Karlsruhe. Il intervient également à Royaumont, au CNSM de Lyon, à la Universität for Musik de Vienne, à l’Opéra Studio de l’Opéra du Rhin et au studio OperAvenir à Basel, ainsi qu'à l’Académie Européenne du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Sa discographie comprend "J'aurai voulu être une chanteuse", "Le cœur en forme de fraise" et Qu'as-tu fait de ta jeunesse" avec Carl Ghazarossian (Hortus‌), "Soir païen" avec Alexis Kossenko et Anna Reinhold (Aparté), ainsi que "French songs" de Lou Koster avec Vincent Lièvre-Picard (AR RE-SE).

James Alexander

Piano Accompaniment Professor - Chamber Music with Piano

The pianist James Alexander was born in Canada, where he studied with Robert Silverman at the University of British Columbia. Benefiting from a scholarship from the Canada Council, he honed his skills at the Juilliard School under Sasha Gorodnitzki and Janina Fialkowska, earning a Master of Music. He also attended masterclasses, including in the field of Lied, with Leon Fleisher, Menahem Pressler, Gwendolyn Koldofsky, and Martin Katz. After completing his studies, James Alexander worked as an intern at the Juilliard School before being engaged at the International Opera Studio of Zurich, then at the Stadttheater Aachen as an assistant to the principal conductor. James Alexander currently teaches chamber music and accompaniment at the Haute école de musique de Genève, as well as in Bern. He performs with many renowned singers and instrumentalists and occasionally gives masterclasses at the Juilliard School. His CD recordings include works for solo piano, Lied, instrumental chamber music, as well as several Tango albums. Learn More about James Alexander

Nina Uhari

Head of Vocal Department - Professor of Piano Accompaniment - Chamber Music with Piano

Born in Finland, Nina Uhari pursued professional piano studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki under the guidance of Matti Raekallio and Eero Heinonen. She furthered her training in Baltimore, USA, with Julian Martin, and later in Paris with Bernard Ringeissen. Additionally, she studied accompaniment at the Conservatoire National de Région in Rueil-Malmaison. Following her studies, Nina Uhari worked as a conductor at CNIPAL (Centre National d'Insertion pour des Artistes Lyriques) in Marseille from 2003 to 2012, where she became the principal conductor in 2008. Concurrently, she was a member of the opera role class at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris. In September 2012, Nina Uhari joined the HEM (Haute Ecole de Musique) in Geneva as a vocal coach for the singing classes at the Neuchâtel and Geneva sites. She has performed in recitals and opera productions in Finland and France, including at the MIDEM Festival, Chorégies d'Orange, Théâtre du Châtelet, Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, Festival d'Aix en Provence, and various French opera houses. Her international performances have taken her to Germany, Austria, Spain, Colombia, Togo, and the United States. She has been invited to accompany master classes with renowned artists such as Tom Krause, Yvonne Minton, Mady Mesplé, Regina Werner, and Janine Reiss. Learn more about Nina Uhari.