Geneva

Basson

The bassoon class at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) benefits from the cordial teaching of its professor Afonso Venturieri. He is currently the first bassoon soloist with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR). 

Our professor is not only a renowned solo artist and chamber musician, but also an educator par excellence. To complement his teaching, internationally renowned artists are regularly invited, in the context of Masterclasses.

The students taking the HEM’s bassoon class benefit from a particularly stimulating learning environment, which makes the most of their cultural diversity. The atmosphere is one that favours human contact and new friendships. Besides the individual classes, there is a large number and variety of opportunities to play in a group: orchestra sessions, chamber music, multi-disciplinary projects. Simulations of orchestra contests are also regularly held.

Our students are encouraged to broaden their horizons by getting an initiation in the baroque bassoon within the HEM’s Department of Music of the Past. 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.

The close ties that the HEM maintains with the region’s professional ensembles offer our students 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 vitality of the music scene in French-speaking Switzerland provides numerous opportunities for engagement, so as to enrich their practice and grow their network of contacts. 

Teachers

Afonso Venturieri

Professor of Bassoon

Afonso Venturieri was born in Belém, Brazil. With a scholarship from the German government, he studied under Helman Jung at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, where he passed the Künstlerische Reifeprüfung exam with high distinction in 1984. He completed his training with Milan Turkovic at the renowned Hochschule für Musik Mozarteum in Salzburg. In 1989, he won the First Prize at the International Competition for Wind Instruments organized by the Swiss Union of Musicians (USDAM). After serving as a bassoonist with the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt, Afonso Venturieri became a member of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in 1987, where he holds the position of principal solo bassoon. He regularly conducts workshops and masterclasses in South America and Europe. He is also dedicated to the training of young musicians, serving as a coach for the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, among others. He performs as a soloist and as part of various chamber music ensembles. Learn more about Afonso Venturieri.

Afonso Venturieri

Departments and associated courses