Chamber music

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  

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

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   

Noémie Bialobroda

Professor of Chamber Music with Strings - Coordinator of Chamber Music (GE)

Born in Paris, violist Noémie Bialobroda performs worldwide on stages such as Wigmore Hall in London, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Concertgebouw in Rotterdam, Salle Gaveau, Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre d’Aix en Provence, and Alte Oper Frankfurt. Since 2014, she has been the violist of the Quatuor Aviv, with which she leads an international career. In 2021, a recording dedicated to Franz Schubert's last two quartets was released on the Aparté label, receiving unanimous praise from the international press. A dedicated educator, she is a professor and coordinator of chamber music at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM). She is also a professor of viola at the Conservatoire de musique de Genève. Engaged in the creation and performance of contemporary music, Noémie has forged close relationships with key figures in this repertoire. She regularly collaborates with Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt, Ensemble Contrechamps in Geneva, and IRCAM in Paris. She premiered two pieces for viola and electronics dedicated to her: "Caprice" by composer Keïta Matsumiya and "Drifting [mirages...]" by Pierre Stordeur. In 2020, alongside violinist Sergey Ostrovsky, she founded and assumed the artistic direction of the Geneva International String Academy, offering promising young musicians the opportunity to study and perform with accomplished musicians over the summer. Noémie Bialobroda trained with Nobuko Imai at the HEM, before pursuing advanced studies with Jean Sulem at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. She plays a viola by Carlo Giuseppe Testore and a bow by Benoît Rolland. Learn more about Noémie Bialobroda  

Alberto Bocini

Professor of Double Bass

Alberto Bocini initially studied guitar before dedicating himself to the double bass. He holds a diploma from the Cherubini Conservatory in Florence, obtained in the class of Alfredo Brandi, and further honed his skills under the guidance of Franco Petrachi. He has won numerous competitions, including a first prize at the Valentino Bucchi Competition, a first prize at the Torneo Internazionale della Musica, and a second prize at the Nicanor Zabaleta String Competition. As a soloist, he has performed with many ensembles, including the orchestra of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, I Solisti Veneti, and the Rome and Lazio Orchestra. In chamber music, he has played with Yuri Bashmet, Vadim Repin, Patrick Gallois, Natalia Gutman, and Eric Ruske. The Newport Music Festival honored him by inviting him eleven times, up until 2004. Alberto Bocini is a member of the Bass Gang, a double bass quartet with an extremely heterogeneous repertoire, which they present with virtuosity and humor. This ensemble has enjoyed great success and has been acclaimed during tours in Japan and Korea. The group recorded a DVD for the independent label NBB Records, a label founded by Alberto Bocini, for which he has recorded extensively. An eclectic and enthusiastic musician, Alberto Bocini does not hesitate to push the boundaries of his repertoire. He recorded for Denon Braevissimo a concerto for double bass and strings by Ennio Morricone and dedicated an album to the music of the English rock band Genesis with a trio named After Genesis. Currently the principal double bassist of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under the direction of Zubin Mehta, Alberto Bocini teaches double bass at the Haute école de musique de Genève. Learn more about  Alberto Bocini

Sandrine Chatron

Professeure de Harpe - Musique de Chambre avec Harpe - Traits d'Orchestre en section ou en pupitre (Harpe)

Sandrine Chatron est en congé pour l'année académique 2024-25. La classe de harpe sera assurée cette année par Sarah Verrue. Sandrine Chatron est une harpiste curieuse, défricheuse et aux multiples facettes. Elle occupe le poste de harpe solo depuis 2009 au Nederlands Philarmonisch Orkest et enseigné la pratique d’orchestre au Conservatoire d'Amsterdam depuis 2012. Pédagogue enthousiaste, elle anime des training d’audition, participe à des stages, des masterclass et des jurys de concours. Diplômée du Conservatoire National Supérieur de musique de Paris en 1994 en harpe et en musique de chambre, Sandrine Chatron est lauréate de plusieurs concours ( Arles, Charpentier)  de la Fondation Banque Populaire (2000), et de la Fondation Tissier Grandpierre (2019). Elle a étudié avec Gérard Devos, Marie-Claire Jamet, Frédérique Cambreling et Germaine Lorenzini. Elle défend avec ardeur un large répertoire, de la harpe à simple mouvement à la création contemporaine. Elle est membre du Trio Polycordes avec lequel elle crée de nombreuses œuvres et spectacles interdisciplinaires. Elle a été membre de l’Ensemble Calliopée pendant vingt ans. Invitée de nombreux festivals, elle a une prédilection pour le partage en musique de chambre et collabore avec des artistes comme le quatuor Elias, Amaury Coyetaux, Juliette Hurel, Ophélie Gaillard. En tant que soliste, elle s’est produite dans le cadre du festival Présences, au Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, au Musée d’Orsay, à Radio France et au Concertgebouw d'Amsterdam, avec notamment le Nederlands Kamerorkest, La Grande Ecurie-La Chambre du Roy, l’Ensemble Fa. Elle a créé de nombreuses œuvres, dont celles de Pierre Boulez, Krystof Maratka, Philippe Schoeller, Susumu Yoshida, Ricardo Nillni, Frédérick Martin, Luis Naon, Alexandros Markeas, Robin De Raaf, Fabien Cali... Soucieuse de défendre un répertoire inédit ou méconnu, elle a signé plusieurs albums solo remarqués par la critique, pour Naïve- Ambroisie, Aparté : André Caplet et ses contemporains (2005), Le Salon de musique de Marie-Antoinette (2009) et A British Promenade (2017), et a une importante discographie en musique de chambre, avec le Trio Polycordes (2017-2018-2022) et en orchestre. Elle collabore avec l’Ensemble Intercontemporain, l’Ensemble Klangforum-Wien, le Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, l’Orchestre National de France, les Berliner Philharmoniker et le Lucerne Festival Orchestra, et a joué sous la direction de chefs tels Claudio Abbado, Ricardo Muti, Georges Prêtre, Sir Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, Daniele Gatti, Lorenzo Viotti, Marc Albrecht. Elle joue également sur harpe historique avec les orchestres comme Le Concert de la Loge, Le Cercle de l’harmonie, Le Concert spirituel. En savoir plus sur Sandrine Chatron

Alessio Corti

Professor of Organ - Improvisation (for Organists) - Chamber Music with Organ - Organ as a Secondary Instrument

Born in Milan in 1967, the son of a renowned organist and pedagogue, Alessio Corti received his first music lessons at an early age. In 1985, he obtained his piano diploma "cum laude," followed by diplomas in organ and harpsichord. He pursued further studies with internationally renowned organists and was a student of Lionel Rogg at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Genève for three years. In 1992, he won a "Premier Prix de Virtuosité with distinction" and the special "Otto Barblan" prize. He subsequently won First Prizes at the International Competitions of Geneva (C.I.E.M. 1993), Carouge (Switzerland), and the "Froberger Prize" for early music at the International Competition of Kaltern-SüdTyrol. He is also a laureate of several competitions in Italy, notably in Milan. In 1983, he was appointed titular organist of the Grands-Orgues at the Church of Santa Maria Segreta in Milan, where at the age of 18, he performed the Complete Works of D. Buxtehude, and the following year, the Complete Works of J.S. Bach. From 1991 to 2016, he was also the titular organist at the Chiesa Cristiana Protestante in Milan. In his brilliant career, he is regularly invited to major international organ festivals. Alessio Corti plays a wide repertoire of early, romantic, and contemporary music, and his discography comprises around thirty CDs, including a complete recording of J.S. Bach’s organ works and "The Art of Fugue," monographs of W.A. Mozart and Mendelssohn, and several anthologies on historic organs. For the Fugatto label, he recorded a DVD of J.S. Bach's Six Trio Sonatas on the historic (1738) organ of the Kreuzkirche in Suhl, Thuringia. His recordings and recitals have received attention and favorable reviews from international critics. He is often invited as a jury member for major international competitions and to give masterclasses. From 1994 to 2001, he was a professor of organ in Italy at the Conservatories of Udine and Verona, having placed first in the national competition of the Ministry of Public Education. Alessio Corti has been a Professor of Organ and Improvisation at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 2001, succeeding Lionel Rogg. Many of his students have obtained diplomas and master's degrees (concert, soloist, pedagogy), and some have distinguished themselves in international competitions. Learn more about Alessio Corti.

Hélène Escriva

Professor of Chamber Music for Brass

A brilliant and bold performer, Hélène Escriva is a free-spirited, enthusiastic, and ever-evolving artist. She strengthened her classical musician's DNA by joining the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in the euphonium class, also taking courses in instrumental theater, drama, opera singing, and chamber music. She earned her Master of Interpretation with honors from the jury in 2017. Her love of travel has taken her across Europe (and to Colombia, the United States, South Korea, Taiwan,...) for recitals, solo concerts, masterclasses, and international academies, making her a prominent figure in the brass world. A sought-after orchestral musician, she has performed with some of the finest French orchestras (Opéra de Paris, Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre les Dissonances, national orchestras of Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille, etc.). Hélène brings new visibility to the euphonium, bass trumpet, and baritone saxhorn by developing original chamber music projects (founding member of the bass trumpet/accordion duo with Pierre Cussac, the Saxback wind sextet, and active member of Nicolas Simon’s Symphonie de Poche) and actively contributes to the creation of new euphonium repertoire with composers Nicolas Worms, Robinson Khoury, and Gabriel Philippot. In 2017, she recorded a live CD of the creation "Libertalia" by Maxime Aulio with the TWO Orchestra. In 2019, she joined the prestigious Hanneton company of James Thierrée. This transformative troupe, an energizing carousel, combines music and body movements with chaotic sets. Hélène trained in live performance with actors, circus artists, dancers, and technicians for the shows MO’S and ROOM and embarked on an international tour from 2022 to 2024. Inspired by this stage experience, and surrounded by a team of generous and committed artists, she developed the CL-ASH! Project in 2023, aiming to create creative, alternative concert-performances, driven by the desire to contribute to a vibrant cultural world, with a fierce determination to open new worlds and break codes. Hélène is a Yamaha artist and plays the Euphonium Custom YEP-842S. She has taught bass trumpet at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris since 2021 and chamber music at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 2022. Learn more about Hélène Escriva

Joshua Hyde

Professor of Saxophone - Chamber Music with Saxophone - Contemporary Chamber Music

Joshua Hyde is a saxophonist, improviser, and composer. Internationally recognized as a contemporary music performer, he is the co-artistic director and saxophonist of the Paris-based ensemble soundinitiative and a member of the duo scapegoat with Canadian percussionist Noam Bierstone. He is also a member of Australia's leading contemporary music ensemble, Elision, and is frequently invited to perform with major European ensembles such as Klangforum Wien, Musikfabrik, Ensemble Nadar, and Ensemble Intercontemporain. Joshua has recorded with Kairos, Integrated Records, NMC, HCR, Wergo, and Torpor Vigil. His collaborations with composers worldwide have resulted in a long list of premieres. Comfortable in the world of improvisation, his latest album on Integrated Records, Sol, features a series of improvised reflections. Particularly interested in creating immersive performance contexts, his compositions often incorporate his own videos and visual arts. In 2018, the New Thread Quartet premiered Bring mir einen Engel zurück at the DiMenna Center in New York City, and in 2017, part of his Vertical Horizons series was premiered by the ensemble Son d'Arte at Casa da Música in Porto. Joshua has been invited to perform and teach at universities worldwide, including Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford. He is also part of the artistic leadership team of the Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy. In 2011, he won the First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 3rd Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition, and in 2014, he was a laureate of the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse. A graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in saxophone (class of Claude Delangle), chamber music (class of Hae-Sun Kang and Frédéric Stochl), and generative improvisation (class of Vincent LeQuang and Alexandros Markeas), he also studied at the CRR de Bordeaux (class of Marie-Bernadette Charrier), CRR de Versailles (class of Vincent David), and the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne (classes of Barry Cockroft and Ian Godfrey). Learn more about Joshua Hyde.

Diana Ketler

Professor of Chamber Music with Piano

Diana was born in Riga into a well-known family of musicians. She began studying music and piano at the age of five at the E Darzins Special Music School in Riga and made her concert debut at the age of 11 with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Vassily Sinaisky. Diana graduated from the Latvian Academy of Music with highest honors in 1993 after studying with Theofil Bikis. From 1992 to 1994, she studied at the Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg under Karl-Heinz Kammerling. In 1994, Diana continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London in the class of Christopher Elton, graduating in 1996 with the Dip RAM. In 1996/1997 and 2000/2001, Diana received the Hodgson Piano Fellowship from the Academy. Diana has performed as a soloist with the Salzburg Chamber Philharmonic, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra, the Riga Chamber Orchestra, the Georgian Chamber Orchestra, and the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. She has given numerous concerts in the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Russia, and most European countries. Notably, she has performed at the Gstaad Musiksommer Festival, the Ravello Music Festival, the St Gallen Music Festival, the Carinthian Summer Festival, and the Kobe International Art Festival. Diana has given recitals at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, the Purcell Room, the Glenn Gould Studios in Toronto, the Tokyo Opera City Hall, the Osaka Symphony Hall, the Atheneum in Bucharest, and other prestigious venues. She has collaborated with artists such as Wolfram Christ, Konstantin Lifschitz, Daishin Kashimoto, Adrian Brendel, Baiba Skride, Remus Azoitei, Sasha Sitkovetsky, Bernhard Hedenborg, Narimichi Kawabata, Inga Kalna, and Marlis Petersen. As a member of Ensemble Raro, she regularly tours Europe and Japan. Diana has given several UK and German premieres of works by contemporary Baltic composers and collaborates closely with Peteris Vasks and Arvo Pärt. Diana's performances have been broadcast on radio and television in Japan, the United Kingdom (BBC 3, Classic FM), Germany (Bavarian Radio), Romania, Latvia, and Austria. Since 2003, Diana has been a piano professor at the Royal Academy of Music. She has given masterclasses in Spain, the Czech Republic, England, Latvia, and the former Yugoslavia, and has been a jury member for the Jeunesses Musicales International Piano Competition in Bucharest. Since 2004, Diana has been the artistic director of the Chiemgauer Musikfrühling Festival in Bavaria, Germany. Learn more about Diana Ketler.

Antoine Marguier

Professor of Bass Clarinet / Woodwind Chamber Music / Orchestral Excerpts in Section or Group (Winds) / Orchestral Sight-Reading

Graduating in clarinet and chamber music from the CNSM de Lyon, Antoine Marguier began his career under the direction of Claudio Abbado with the Orchestre des Jeunes de l’Union Européenne and the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester. At the age of 22, he was appointed as the solo bass clarinet at the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, a position he held for 16 years. His passion for ensemble music and his desire to pass on his knowledge led him to join the HEM at the age of 27, first as a professor of bass clarinet, then of chamber music and orchestral excerpts, and as a conductor, notably during a tour in China. As part of the school's international collaborations, he has given masterclasses at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, Seoul National University, the Conservatoire Central de Pékin, and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Among his mentors and teachers are renowned conductors such as David Zinman, Roberto Benzi, James Levine, and Kurt Masur. Alongside his international activity as a guest conductor, he has held positions as resident conductor of the Orchestre National de Lyon, music director of the Orchestre du Conservatoire de musique de Genève, and the Seoul International Community Orchestra. In Geneva, where he resides, he is the founder and conductor of the Compagnie du Rossignol and the Orchestre des Nations, through which he has had the opportunity to accompany great musical personalities such as Renée Fleming, Khatia Buniatishvili, Maxim Vengerov, Gautier Capuçon, Alexandra Conunova, Barbara Hannigan, Miloš Karadaglić, and Pretty Yende. Also in Geneva, Antoine is a member of the Club Diplomatique and the Cercle des Entrepreneurs. Learn more about Antoine Marguier.

Andreas Ortwein

Professor of Sight-Reading (for Singers) - Professor of Chamber Music with Voice (NE)

Judicaël Perroy

Professor of Guitar - Chamber Music for Guitar

Judicaël Perroy was born on July 21, 1973, in Paris. He began playing the guitar at the age of 7 at the Conservatoire Municipal Inter-arrondissements de Paris. From 1983 to 1988, he studied with Délia Estrada, then with Raymond Gratien at the École Nationale d'Aulnay-sous-Bois, where he obtained a First Prize with unanimous honors from the jury in June 1988. At the age of 11, Judicaël Perroy began performing concerts, notably as a soloist in two Vivaldi concertos with the Ensemble Instrumental du Mans under the direction of André Girard. He continued his musical studies with Roberto Aussel and Daniel Lavialle. In 1994, he obtained the Concert License from the École Normale de Musique de Paris in the class of Alberto Ponce, and in 1996, he earned the First Prize from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP). In 1997, he received the First Prize at the 15th GFA (Guitar Foundation of America) Competition in San Diego, USA. Since then, he has performed in the most prestigious halls and festivals (Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, National Concert Hall in Taipei, Teatro de la Republica in Mexico…). In 1998, he recorded his first CD in France with Quantum, which received the "5 Diapasons" award from Diapason magazine. In 2002, a second CD titled "Aspen Suite" was released in the USA. In 2007, he released a double album "La magie de la guitare" published by Bayard Musique. More recently, he recorded two new CDs for the Bayard Presse Méditation collection: the first with flute (Florence Bellon), the second with harp (Joanna Kozielska). In January 2012, a CD dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach was released by Naxos. In December 2014, a new Naxos CD featuring the works of Mexican composer Manuel Maria Ponce was released. His latest CD, released in 2017 for Contrastes, is a recital of works composed in Paris (Fernando Sor, Manuel Maria Ponce, Heitor Villa-Lobos...). His teaching is also highly sought after, as he regularly gives classes at major American universities and European and Asian festivals. For the past fifteen years, his students have consistently entered the CNSMDP and other top schools and have won major international competitions. He teaches at the École Supérieure Musique et Danse Nord de France and was a professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, USA, from 2017 to 2020, succeeding guitarist-composer Sergio Assad. Finally, in September 2020, he was appointed as a guitar instructor at the Haute école de musique de Genève, succeeding guitarist-composer Dusan Bogdanovic. Learn more about Judicaël Perroy  

Quatuor Belcea

Quatuor en résidence

Composé de Corina Belcea (violon), Suyeon Kang (violon), Krzysztof Chorzelski (alto) et Antoine Lederlin (violoncelle), le Quatuor Belcea bénéficie d’une solide réputation sur la scène musicale internationale et affiche déjà une discographie impressionnante.  L’éventail de son répertoire embrasse toute la musique écrite pour quatuor de Haydn, Mozart, et Beethoven, jusqu’à Bartok, Janacek, Britten et Szymanowski. En outre, il présente régulièrement au public des œuvres de compositeurs actuels. La présence du Quatuor Belcea au sein de la HEM représente une opportunité unique pour les étudiant-e-s de bénéficier d’une formation pratique et théorique complète dispensé par un ensemble expérimenté connaissant parfaitement toutes les facettes du métier de musicien-ne. Nul doute que le professionnalisme, la curiosité et l’éclectisme du Quatuor Belcea seront des sources d’inspiration pour nos étudiant-e-s tant dans le répertoire classique que contemporain. Site internet du Quatuor Belcea

Axel Schacher

Professeur de quatuor à cordes

Né en 1981, Axel Schacher a commencé l’étude du violon à l’âge de 4 ans. A l’âge de douze ans il remporte le tournoi du Royaume de la Musique, organisé par la maison de la radio à Paris, et joue au concert des lauréats la Symphonie Espagnole d’E.Lalo accompagné par l’orchestre de la Garde Républicaine. Il entre à l’âge de treize ans au conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris dans la classe de Boris Garlitski. En 1998, il obtient le prix de la Ville de Paris, et en 2000 son premier prix mention très bien du Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris. Il est lauréat du Concours International Andrea Postacchini en 1998, puis remporte en 2000 le deuxième prix du concours international Tibor Varga, ainsi que les prix spéciaux de meilleure interprétation de l’œuvre de Bach et du caprice de Paganini. Il occupe depuis 2003 le poste de premier Violon Solo de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Bâle. Il enseigne la musique de chambre de 2010 à 2015 à la Guildhall School of London. Il est membre pendant plus de douze ans du quatuor Belcea, ensemble de renommée internationale qui se produit depuis presque trente dans les salles les plus prestigieuses (Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, Boulez Saal, Helbphilharmonie, Konzerthaus Wien) et avec de nombreux musiciens tels que Tabea Zimmerman, Piotr Anderszerwski, Matthias Goerne, Jean Guihen Queyras, Antoine Tamestit, Martin Fröst, Elisabeth Leonska, Jorg Widmann, Ian Bostridge. Le quatuor Belcea a enregistré plus de vingt-cinq disques plébiscités par la presse internationale.

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

Vincent Thevenaz

Professor of Organ - Improvisation (for organists) - Introduction to Music Reading - Music Reading - Music Reading and Transposition - Chamber Music with Organ

Vincent Thévenaz is a professor of organ and improvisation at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève, and the titular organist and carillon player at the St. Peter's Cathedral in Geneva. He is frequently invited for concerts, competition juries, and masterclasses across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. With a comprehensive education spanning organ, piano, classical and jazz improvisation, musicology, music theory, conducting, singing, French and Russian literature, Vincent Thévenaz continuously seeks to invigorate and diversify the organ world. He pushes the boundaries of genres and enriches his interpretations with a profound knowledge of works and their contexts. His repertoire ranges widely from medieval to contemporary and current music of various origins. Vincent Thévenaz has developed a significant focus on improvisation, exploring the power of the present moment. He practices improvisation in liturgy, concerts, and accompanying silent films. His teaching is enriched by an approach that views written music as an endless source of inspiration and improvisation as a questioning of freedom in interpretation. As a recognized specialist in the harmonium, he owns a collection of high-quality historical instruments and performs them in recitals and ensembles. His expertise has led him to collaborate with musicians such as Leonidas Kavakos and Yuja Wang, and with the Scharoun Ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic, earning praise from Simon Rattle: "played by you, the harmonium becomes a living and exciting instrument." He combines the organ with numerous instruments of diverse origins, including classical (violin, flute) and unusual (saxophone, Alpine horn, percussion) sounds, and plays cousin instruments such as carillon, cinema organ, Hammond organ, keyboards, and percussion. Vincent Thévenaz is also known for his arrangements, transcribing music of various styles for organ or chamber music formations, and collaborating with orchestras and ensembles. He arranged and directed the annual show "Chantons Noël," creating an original setting for traditional melodies. He also arranged a version for ensemble of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." In 2009-2010, he performed Bach's complete organ works in 14 concerts, followed by Mendelssohn's organ works in 2017, both receiving great acclaim. His duo "W" with saxophonist Vincent Barras has produced two CDs of original repertoire. He has recorded two critically acclaimed CDs with Sony's Ensemble Gli Angeli Genève (Stephan MacLeod). For the 50th anniversary of Geneva Cathedral's Metzler organ, he produced a CD showcasing the treasures of Geneva composers' organ music. Vincent Thévenaz collaborates with numerous ensembles and conductors (Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ensemble Contrechamps, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Lausanne Vocal Ensemble, Capella Mediterranea, Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, Valery Gergiev, Heinz Holliger, Michel Corboz, Lawrence Foster, Antonio Pappano, etc.). In 2005, he founded the Orchestre Buissonnier, a young musicians' ensemble, which he regularly conducts. Learn more about Vincent Thévenaz.

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.