The composition and theory department is a hub for teaching, creativity and experimentation in the field of composition, electro-acoustic composition, composition for the moving image and multimedia creation.

Starting in the 2026-27 academic year, the HEM will implement a new organizational structure for its composition and theory department in order to offer a more coherent grouping of disciplines and programs and thus enhance the clarity of its educational offerings. This single department will be divided into two distinct departments:

The Creation Department will bring together courses in the fields of composition, mixed and multimedia composition, composition for film, the performer-composer option of the Master's in Musical Performance, concert orientation, and the new Master's in Musical Project Creation. The department will also bring together all cross-disciplinary activities in the field of contemporary creation. It will also house the CIMME (Interdisciplinary Center for Experimental Music and Media) and the ARTeM (Center for Technical Support and Production) serving the HEM and its actors. Responsibility for the new Creation department has been handed over to Julien Annoni, who is already in charge of the new Master's in Music Project Creation.

The Musical Culture and Theoretical Practices Department will bring together Master's programs in the fields of theory, pedagogy, and ethnomusicology. The department will also include all courses related to theoretical practices (general music education Bachelor's degree, research-related courses, Bachelor's degree in music and musicology). It will also house the Center for Cultures, a place for teaching, research, and mediation in the field of music from other cultural areas. Responsibility for the new Musical Culture and Theoretical Practices department has been handed over to Talia Bachir-Loopuyt, professor of ethnomusicology at the HEM and head of the Center for Cultures.

It houses It houses the Centre ARTeM – a support and technical production centre for musicians – and the CIMME – Interdisciplinary Centre for Experimental Music and Media – dedicated to contemporary creation and artistic experimentation in the era of immersive and interactive technologies. The CME collaborates closely with similar centres such as the IRCAM or McGill University. Moreover, the department is also the skills centre in the field of music theory, whose expertise is centred on Western musical language, but is also expanding to non-European traditions.

The main subjects taught are composition, electro-acoustic composition, mixed and multimedia composition, music writing and music theory.

 

The Department Through Videos

Studies

Teachers of major disciplines

Stefan Prins

Professor of electroacoustic and mixed composition

Stefan Prins will take up his post in September 2026 Stefan Prins (Belgium, 1979) is a composer and performer whose music often includes and reflects on contemporary technologies and new media, thematizing their relationship with the physical, performing body and the environments it inhabits. After graduating as an engineer, he studied piano, composition and music technology at the Conservatories of Flanders (Antwerp), Brussels and The Hague. In 2017 he obtained a PhD in composition at Harvard University under the guidance of Chaya Czernowin and Hans Tutschku. He received many international awards such as the “Kunstpreis Berlin für Musik”, “Kranichsteiner Musikpreis für Komposition” or the “ISCM Young Composers Award”. His music is performed worldwide on festivals such as the Donaueschinger Musiktage, Darmstadt Ferienkurse, Wittener Tage für Neue Musik, Eclat, Warsaw Autumn, Ultraschall Berlin, Wien Modern, Gaudeamus Festival, Tzlil Meudcan, Impuls Festival, Rainy Days Festival, Transit & Ultima Festival. He has collaborated closely with Nadar Ensemble – of which he is artistic co-director, Klangforum Wien, Nikel Ensemble, Ensemble Mosaik, Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble Modern, Trio Accanto, Arditti Quartet, MusikFabrik, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg & BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and soloists such as Yaron Deutsch, Stephane Ginsburgh, Rei Nakamura, Florentin Ginot, Severine Ballon & Ning Yu. His music has been released on the labels Sub Rosa, Kairos, Wergo and Neos. Prins also performs regularly in the improvised music scene (electronics), amongst others with Yaron Deutsch in the Ministry of Bad Decisions. He taught at Academies such as the Darmstadt Summercourses, Impuls Academy or Syntetis Academy, was guest-professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music Oslo & HK Bern and has served as a professor of composition and director of the Hybrid Music Lab at the Hochschule für Musik Dresden from 2020-2026. Stefan Prins Website  

Photo portrait du compositeur Stefan Prins
Teachers of minor disciplines
  • Louis Absil
    Solfège , Harmonie au clavier
  • Luciano Azzigotti
    Internet music
  • Jean-Loup Dartigues
    Didactique instrumentale ou vocale
  • Bänz Isler
    Musique et cinéma - technique
  • Thomas Penanguer
    Design vidéo interactif
  • Stefan Prins
    Composition électroacoustique
  • Denis Schuler
    Préparation aux métiers MA (cours), Préparation aux métiers MA (stage), Préparation aux métiers MA (projet personnel)
  • Pierre-André Taillard
    Séminaire d'acoustique
Accompanists

Research projects

Events

Testimonials

J’ai choisi la HEM pour la renommée de son équipe pédagogique et l’importance des moyens qu’elle met à la disposition de ses étudiant-e-s dans le domaine de la musique électro-acoustique

Nicolas Roulive Etudiant en Master de composition