Transverse flute

The HEM's flute classe 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's flute class benefit from the input of internationally renowned artists, who are regularly invited to give masterclasses.

The HEM’s flute classes offers a particularly stimulating learning environment, which emphasizes 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. Once a month, the class organises recitals with accompaniment on the piano or harpsichord. Simulations of orchestra contests are also regularly held.

Our students are encouraged to broaden their horizons by taking classes in a second instrument, such as the traverso or the piccolo. The school makes a high-quality set of instruments available to them, ranging from the piccolo to the bass flute. 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 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

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

Sébastian Jacot

Professor of flute

Sébastian Jacot joins the HEM as flute professor for the 2026–2027 academic year Sébastian Jacot is an internationally renowned flutist, recognised for his demanding artistic career and unique musical approach. Born in Geneva, he trained with Jacques Zoon and began his professional career at the age of eighteen as assistant principal flute with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He was then appointed principal flute with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, followed by the Berlin Philharmonic. A winner of major international competitions – the Kobe International Flute Competition, the ARD in Munich and the Carl Nielsen Competition – he pursues a career as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician on the major stages of Europe, Asia and the Americas, collaborating with many leading conductors and ensembles. Alongside his concert activities, he is deeply committed to teaching. He has taught at the University of the Arts in Bremen, the Hanns Eisler Hochschule in Berlin and the Karajan Academy, and regularly gives masterclasses internationally. He has also carried out extensive work in the field of contemporary music, notably with the Ensemble Contrechamps in Geneva. His teaching is based on a holistic approach that integrates body awareness, movement and fidelity to the musical text, informed by a concrete knowledge of current professional realities.

Loïc Schneider

Professeur de flûte traversière

Loïc Schneider will join the HEM as flute professor for the 2027–2028 academic year An internationally renowned flutist, Loïc Schneider has established himself as one of the most brilliant artists of his generation. Recognised by his peers for his artistic qualities, he has won numerous major competitions, including first prize at the Nicolet Competition in 2006, the Larrieu Competition in 2007 and the prestigious ARD Competition in Munich in 2010 (first prize and audience prize). These distinctions have taken him to the world's greatest concert halls (Bunka Kaikan, Herkulessaal, Bamberg Philharmonie, Lotte Hall, Taipei National Concert Hall, etc.) and fuelled a particularly remarkable career in Asia, where he performs regularly in China, Korea and Taiwan. Trained in France in Strasbourg, his hometown, then in Paris at the CNSMDP, he began his orchestral career at a very young age: at only 22, he was appointed principal flute of the Orchestre National de Lorraine, before joining the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva in 2009 in the same position, under the direction of leading conductors. A sought-after soloist and renowned teacher, he is frequently invited to sit on the jury of major international competitions (Geneva, Nicolet, Cluj). He also gives numerous masterclasses around the world, both in Europe and Asia. Always passionate about passing on his knowledge, he has been teaching for over ten years at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU).