Nicolas Bolens

Professor of Counterpoint, 20th-Century Writing, and Practical Writing

En associant traditions et explorations nouvelles des matières sonores, les œuvres de Nicolas Bolens investissent l’espace en valorisant les éléments et les sujets qui se présentent à lui. Combining traditions and new explorations of sound materials, the works of Nicolas Bolens invest in space by enhancing the elements and subjects that present themselves to him. His music is regularly connected to other elements: texts, films, places, evocations... In each context, he seeks an authentic dramaturgy that promotes unprecedented settings. For example, with the Batida ensemble, he imagined "Welcome to the Castle" (2017), three musical acts for musicians moving through the Allymes Castle near Amberieu-en-Bugey. For the Gémeau Quartet, he wrote "La Ville Oblique" (2013), a string quartet conceived as a musical extension of the short film "Un Chien Andalou" by Dalí and Buñuel. Written words, most often poetic, permeate his entire production. He has composed on poems by Celan, Sachs, Mallarmé, Char, Blok, Khayyam, Michaux, Éluard, Basho, Neruda, Rilke, Adonis, Shakespeare... These authors, from various times and origins, have led him to integrate many languages into his works, considering their sonic as well as semantic potentials. Orchestration also holds an important place in his work, rethinking the instrumentation of certain past works. In 2018, he re-orchestrated "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen" and the 4th Symphony by Gustav Mahler for the Lemanic Modern Ensemble under the direction of conductor Pierre Bleuse. Commissioned by the association Ouverture Opera, his recent rewriting of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" follows the same approach. Nicolas Bolens has notably collaborated with the Batida ensemble, the Lemanic Modern Ensemble, the Swiss Chamber Soloists, the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne, the Ensemble Vocal Polhymnia, the Ensemble Vortex, the Basler Madrigalisten, and the Ensemble Vocal Séquence... Born in Geneva, he first studied piano at the Conservatoire de musique de Genève, then completed his training in the composition class of Jean Balissat. He further honed his skills with Rudolph Kelterborn, Klaus Huber, Edison Denisov, and Eric Gaudibert. He is the recipient of numerous composition prizes, including those from the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (1993) and the Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise (2002), as well as a scholarship from the Leenaards Foundation (1998). An engaged pedagogue and artist, he teaches counterpoint, 20th-century writing, and composition at the Haute école de musique de Genève, where he has been the head of the Composition and Theory Department from 2015 to 2024. He is also involved in several institutions related to musical creation in Switzerland, including the Swiss Musicians Association, the Archipel Festival Association, the Nicati-de-Luze Foundation, and the Artistic Council of the Geneva Competition. Learn more about Nicolas Bolens  

Luis Naon

Professor of Electroacoustic Composition - Mixed Composition

Born in La Plata, Argentina, in 1961, Luis Naon pursued his musical studies at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Universidad Católica Argentina in Buenos Aires, and later at the CNSM de Paris under the guidance of Guy Reibel, Laurent Cuniot, and Daniel Teruggi. He also studied with Sergio Ortega and Horacio Vaggione. Since 1991, he has been a professor of Composition and New Technologies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. Additionally, he taught composition at ESMUC (Barcelona) from 2003 to 2008 and has been a professor of electroacoustics at the HEM de Genève since 2006. From what could be considered his first work, "Final del Juego" for septet and magnetic tape (premiered at Studio 105 of Radio France in 1983), Naon has sought to implement this dual relationship (between America and Europe, between instruments and electronics). He has been awarded the UNESCO International Composers Tribune in 1990 and 1996 (for "Tango del desamparo" and "Speculorum Memoria"), the Fondo Nacional de las Artes (for "Reflets"), the TRINAC Prize from the International Music Council (for "Cinq personnages en quête de hauteur"), the Olympia Composition Prize (for "Ombre de l'ombre"), and the Municipal Prize of the City of Buenos Aires in 1991 and 1995 (for "Speculorum Memoria"). He was nominated for the "3rd Victoires de la Musique Classique" (for Sextuor ". "), "Prix Georges Enesco" from SACEM, and "Luis de Narváez" Prize from Caja de Granada for his String Quartet No. 2. Naon collaborates with various ensembles and institutions such as the Ministry of Culture and Communication, Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Musée d’Art Contemporain du Mexique, Orchestre de la Seine-Saint-Denis, Ensemble TM+, Lémanic Modern Ensemble, Interface, Musique Oblique, Musée d’Histoire de Montreuil, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, INA-GRM, IRCAM, Orchestre de Paris, Ensemble Contrechamps, Ensemble Diagonal, Ukho ensemble de Kiev, and in festivals like Musica Strasbourg, MANCA, Festival d'Aix en Provence, Festival Archipel, and Vivier de Montréal. In 1989, Naon composed the music for the parade on the Champs-Elysées and Place de la Concorde commemorating the Bicentennial of the French Revolution. This parade was televised worldwide. The cycle of 25 works "Urbana," initiated in 1991 and completed in 2013, crystallizes under this generic title through "Urbana" (1997). It includes 25 works ranging from acousmatic pieces to symphonic orchestra. He composed the music for the show "Les Princesses" for the opening of the Théâtre-Auditorium de Poitiers in partnership with choreographer Odile Azagury. Nearly 3 hours of music ranging from solo electroacoustic (for choreographers Anna Ventura, Karine Saporta, or Dominique Boivin) to pieces for 15 instruments and electronics (for choreographers Carolyn Carlson, Héla Fatoumi, Blanca Li, etc.). This entire production is captured on a double CD under the Empreinte Digitale label. Recent works include "Quebrada/Horizonte" for orchestra, "Pájaro al borde de la noche" for cello, electronics, and ensemble premiered at the recent Présences festivals of Radio France, "Ébano y Metal" for the Lemanic Modern Ensemble (Switzerland/France). Other notable recent works include "Rastros" for the ensembles Stick & Bow and Paramirabo of Montreal (featured in a monographic concert and video recording) and his "String Quartet III" (premiered at the Evora Festival in 2021, then at Archipel 2022 and projection space of IRCAM in 2023). His latest piece, "Fueye," concertino for bandoneon and ensemble, was premiered by Juanjo Mosalini and the TM+ ensemble at the Maison de la Musique de Nanterre in October 2022, followed by performances at La Seine Musicale and Gennevilliers in May 2023. Naon's works are published by Henry Lemoine, Gérard Billaudot, and Babelscores. Learn more about Luis Naon.

Gilbert Nouno

Head of the Centre de Musique Électroacoustique - Professor of Electronic Music - Multimedia Composition - Interactive Video Design - Internet Music - Interfaces, Digital Instrument Making & Immersive Systems - Concept & Creation, Open Space

Composer, sound artist, pedagogue, and researcher, Gilbert Nouno creates music that is highly in tune with visual arts and digital technologies. Curious about all forms of expression, he effortlessly crosses the boundaries between composition and improvisation. As a visual artist under the name Til Berg, he combines the synesthesia of sound arts with other media. Using music and sounds, he generates abstract and minimalist visuals with traditional and digital media such as video and lithography. Gilbert Nouno's collaborations are marked by aesthetic plurality with many artists such as Pierre Boulez and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, George Benjamin and the London Sinfonietta, Jonathan Harvey and the Arditti Quartet, saxophonist Steve Coleman, and flutist Magic Malik... A laureate of the Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto in 2007, and the Villa Medici, Académie de France in Rome in 2011-2012, Gilbert Nouno joined the Centre de musique électroacoustique (CME) of the Haute école de musique de Genève as its head, teaches composition at the Royal College of Music in London, and is a visiting professor invited by the DAAD in Detmold (Germany). He teaches digital sound arts at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he is also a guest researcher, and live electronics & computer music design at Ircam. Learn more about Gilbert Nouno

Charlotte Perrey Beaude

Professor of Writing Practice - Cadence Writing - Music Theory

Charlotte Perrey began her musical studies with piano, quickly developing a strong inclination for improvisation and composition. After studying in advanced mathematics classes, she fully devoted herself to music and specialized in writing under the guidance of Stéphane Delplace. She continued her studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, where she earned First Prizes in Harmony, Counterpoint, 20th-21st Century Writing, Fugue and Forms, as well as the Marcel Dautremer Prize. She studied notably with Jean-François Zygel, Thierry Escaich, and Marc-André Dalbavie. She currently teaches at the Haute école de musique de Lausanne and the Haute école de musique de Genève.

Nicolas Rabaeus

Professeur de composition à l'image - musique et cinéma

Né à Genève le 6 mai 1984, Nicolas Rabaeus est un compositeur suisse, spécialisé dans la musique pour l'image en mouvement. Il crée principalement sa musique en enregistrant et en synthétisant des instruments et objets dans son studio à Genève, qu'il combine ensuite avec d'autres musiciens et ensembles. De formation classique et jazz, il se sent autant à l'aise avec un orchestre dans une salle de concert qu’en créant des textures expérimentales avec un synthétiseur modulaire, ou même avec une guitare interprétant des chansons pop. Cette approche horizontale de la musique est sa signature et l'aide à trouver un son unique pour chaque partition. Sa musique a été plusieurs fois primée, notamment par le prix du cinéma suisse (2023, pour Foudre), le prix Colombier-Dompierre à Montréal (2023, pour Foudre), prix Kinotavr à Sochi (2015, pour Le syndrome de Petrushka). Au cours des quinze dernières années, il a travaillé sur plus de cinquante projets avec des cinéastes européens et suisses.

Katharina Rosenberger

Professeure de composition

Les œuvres de la compositrice Katharina Rosenberger emmènent leurs auditrices et auditeurs vers des lieux inconnus. Née à Zurich en 1971, l’artiste choisit une approche interdisciplinaire et des combinaisons inusitées. Ses travaux s’assimilent des domaines et des médias artistiques tels que la vidéo, les arts plastiques ou le théâtre. Son art du son ainsi que ses sculptures sonores constituent des défis aux habitudes auditives et attirent l’attention sur la façon dont nous percevons la musique et les œuvres d’art. Katharina Rosenberger a fait ses études au prestigieux Berklee College of Music de Boston, à la Royal Academy of Music de Londres et à la Columbia University de New York. Depuis 2018, elle est professeure à l’University of California de San Diego où elle a déjà enseigné auparavant la composition et l’art du son. En 2021, elle obtient un poste de professeure de composition à Lübeck. En 2019, Katharina Rosenberger reçoit la très renommée bourse Guggenheim. Les œuvres de Katharina Rosenberger ont reçu de multiples récompenses ; son projet « VIVA VOCE » a été soutenu par l’Office fédéral de la culture et son album « TEXTUREN », interprété par l’ensemble new-yorkais Wet Ink, a reçu le prestigieux Copland Recording Grant ainsi que le prix de la deutsche Schallplattenkritik. On peut découvrir les œuvres de Katharina Rosenberger lors de festivals internationaux. Assister physiquement à leur exécution est une expérience qui aiguise durablement les sens.

Rodolphe Schacher

Professor of Writing Practice - Analysis - Harmony - Counterpoint

Franco-Swiss composer and pianist Rodolphe Schacher was born in France in 1973. Schacher pursued his musical studies in Paris, Geneva, and Zurich, under the guidance of Michael Jarrell, Thierry Escaich, Gerald Bennett, and Ulrich Koella. He has been awarded five first prizes (harmony, counterpoint, Renaissance counterpoint, fugue and forms, and 20th-century music) at the CNSM in Paris and received the composition and theory diploma with honors, as well as the concert diploma in chamber music from the Zurich University of the Arts. Alongside his artistic activities, Schacher teaches analysis and writing at the Haute école de musique de Genève, writing at the Haute école de musique de Lausanne, and taught composition until June 2015 at the Zurich University of the Arts.

Antoine Schneider

Professor of Practical Writing - Contrepoint

After studying violin and musicology in Geneva, Antoine Schneider furthered his musical theory education in Zurich with Burkhard Kinzler and Andreas Nick. He also trained in musical direction, piano, and baroque violin. He is currently a professor of solfège and counterpoint at the Haute école de musique de Genève and the Haute école des arts de Berne, as well as a professor of musical training at the ESM Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (Early Music Department). In his teaching, he specializes in the practices of musical improvisation during the Renaissance period. He is regularly invited to give masterclasses across Europe and collaborates with Jean-Yves Haymoz, Barnabé Janin (CNSMD Lyon), and the Helicona project. He is the co-responsible for the website Super librum cantare (www.superlibrum.com).

Guido Balestracci

Professor of Viola da Gamba - Ornamentation

Guido Balestracci was born in Turin in 1971. He discovered the viola da gamba at the age of five within his family environment. After completing his studies at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, he began a faithful collaboration with musical personalities such as Paolo Pandolfo and Jordi Savall, performing alongside them and contributing to numerous recordings. In 1997, he founded the ensemble L’Amoroso to explore the viola da gamba repertoire more personally and to highlight the different instruments of this family. The recording programs "Consonanze Stravaganti," followed by "Seconde Stravaganze" and the transcription of Corelli's Opus V for viola da gamba, are considered pioneering works in the revival of the Italian repertoire for viols and have been awarded by international critics (Diapason d’or, 10 de Répertoire, Prix Goldberg, Premio Vivaldi della Fondazione Cini, Eccezionale de Scherzo, Choc du Monde de la Musique...). Passionate about research, Guido Balestracci is interested in rare instruments, such as the baryton, as evidenced by a CD dedicated to Haydn's trio Divertimenti, released in 2011. His interest in the Classical and Romantic periods, particularly for the arpeggione, of which he is one of the few current performers, also falls within this domain. He performs in concerts featuring a program dedicated to the transcription of the Romantic repertoire around Schubert's "Arpeggione" Sonata, which he recorded in 2019. Since the end of 2021, Guido Balestracci has also been responsible for the research project "Le Vibrato entre 1770 et 1820: un agrément à redécouvrir," which he conducts at the HEM of Geneva in collaboration with Elizabeth Dobbin and Paolo Corsi and in partnership with the CRR of Paris. He holds the position of professor of viola da gamba and 18th-century ornamentation at the HEM of Geneva and at the CRR of Paris in collaboration with PSPBB and Sorbonne University. Learn more about Guido Balestracci  

Johanna Bartz

Professeure de traverso

Flûtiste renommée originaire du nord de l'Allemagne, Johanna Bartz excelle à l'échelle internationale. Enseignante de flûte traversière Renaissance à la Schola Cantorum Basiliensis depuis 2016, elle dirige également astrophil & stella et se produit en tant que musicienne invitée avec des ensembles prestigieux à travers l'Europe. Polyvalente, elle explore la musique co-contemporaine et électronique, tout en partageant son expertise lors de conférences dans des institutions renommées (Mozarteum de Salzbourg, l'UdK de Berlin, l'ESMAE de Porto, l'ESMUC de Barcelone). En parallèle à ses engagements académiques, Johanna Bartz co-fonde la plateforme d'artistes "Phosphenes" et laisse une marque durable dans l'enregistrement musical, contribuant à de nombreux CD et émissions de radio. Lauréate de multiples prix internationaux, elle apportera dès septembre 2024 son excellence musicale à la Haute école de musique de Genève, inspirant les étudiants par sa passion. Site internet de Johanna Bartz

Patrick Beaugiraud

Professor of Baroque Oboe

Patrick Beaugiraud studied oboe with César Ognibène, Jacques Chambon, Maurice Bourgue, and Heinz Holliger, before playing for two years with the Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon. He then dedicated himself more particularly to the interpretation of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic repertoires on original instruments. Appreciated by the best Baroque ensembles, he is notably sought after by the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, Les Musiciens du Louvre, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, the Bach Collegium Japan, and the Ricercar Consort. His discography is rich with recordings of oboe concertos by Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn, and numerous Bach cantatas, under the direction of Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki, Sigiswald Kuijken, or Leonardo Garcia Alarcon. More recently, he has recorded Handel's cantatas, Mozart's quartet with oboe, and Couperin's "Les Goûts Réunis." He is also a founding member of the wind quintet Le Concert Impromptu. Holder of the State Diploma, he has taught modern oboe at the music schools of Macon, Montélimar, and the CNSM of Lyon before joining the Haute école de musique de Genève to teach Baroque oboe.

Daniele Bragetti

Professor of Recorder

Born in 1965, Daniele Bragetti obtained his diploma in recorder at the Civica Scuola di Musica di Milano and the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam, studying with professors such as Nina Stern, Kees Boeke, Marijke Miessen, and Jeanette van Wingerden. He regularly performs both as a soloist and with various Baroque and Renaissance music ensembles, including Ensemble Baroque de Limoges (conducted by Christophe Coin), Ensemble Elyma (Gabriel Garrido), Ensemble Concerto (Roberto Gini), Academia Montis Regalis (Andrea de Marchi), and Accademia Claudio Monteverdi (Hans Ludwig Hirsch). He has played in prestigious venues and important festivals, such as Mito – Settembremusica in Milan, Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Musica e Poesia a S. Maurizio in Milan, Tokyo Recorder Festival, I Concerti del Quartetto in Milan, UNESCO per Venezia, Tokyo Opera City, and Casals Hall in Tokyo. Since 1991, Daniele Bragetti has performed in a recorder duo with Seiko Tanaka, also collaborating with flutists Walter van Hauwe and Antonio Politano. In 2013, he founded the recorder ensemble La Rubertina in Tokyo with Seiko Tanaka. Daniele Bragetti is also active in the field of contemporary music, with composers such as Michiharu Matsunaga, Luca Cori, and Koji Ueno dedicating numerous works to him. He has made recordings for Opus 111, Passacaille, Stradivarius, Entrée, Mercury, and Olive Music. Since 2003, Daniele Bragetti has taught recorder and historical ornamentation at the Civica Scuola di Musica “Claudio Abbado” di Milano. He has been a guest professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève and the Universidad Pontificia de Santiago de Chile. Since 2016, he has been a professor of recorder at the Haute école de musique de Genève. Learn more about Daniele Bragetti    

Maria Christina Cleary

Professor of Historical Harps - Basso Continuo on the Instrument (for Harpists)

Originally from Ireland and its harp musical traditions, Maria Christina Cleary is internationally recognized as a virtuoso with an exceptionally sensitive and beautiful touch. She is one of the few specialists in medieval harp, promoting innovative techniques, particularly pedal techniques used exclusively on single-action harps. These techniques have enabled her to develop a new approach to interpreting medieval and Renaissance works. She studied in Dublin, London, The Hague, and Brussels with Susanna Mildonian, as well as at Leiden University in the Netherlands. She has won numerous awards, including the Utrecht Early Music Competition, the Nippon International Harp Competition, and the Dutch National Harp Competition. Maria Christina Cleary regularly records CDs such as "So mach’ die Augen zu," the first CD of Louis Spohr with original instruments and musical techniques of the time. She produced another CD, "Le Grazie del Violino," with her duo Arparla, featuring works by 17th-century Italian composers such as Frescobaldi, Merula, Uccellini, and Rossi, where she exclusively uses the harp as an accompaniment or solo instrument. She teaches medieval harp, improvisation, and chamber music with both ancient and modern harps. After teaching at the Guildhall School of Music in London, the conservatories in Singapore, Brisbane, Venice, Padova, the Krakow Academy of Music, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and the Haute école de musique de Genève, she joined the renowned Urbino Summer Music team in 2016. Maria Christina Cleary regularly gives masterclasses, notably at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. Learn more about Maria Christina Cleary.

Bruno Cocset

Professor of Cello

Born in 1963, Bruno Cocset graduated from the Conservatoire National de Région de Tours. He was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon in 1980, where he studied with Alain Meunier, and later with Jean Deplace, leaving his class in March 1983 due to stylistic differences. He approached the baroque cello and gut string playing as an autodidact and later with Christophe Coin, becoming the first graduate of his class at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Paris (First Prize with unanimous distinction in 1986). He also attended masterclasses by cellist Anner Bijlsma and violinist Jaap Schroeder. Twenty years of rich experiences and musical collaborations followed: Les Arts Florissants, Mosaïques, Fitzwilliam, Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, Le Concert Français, La Petite Bande, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Talens Lyriques, Arsys, Ricercar Consort, l’Arpeggiata, Stradivaria, l’Amoroso, Al Ayre Español, Henri Ledroit, Véronique Gens, Maurice Bourgue, Franz Brüggen, Gustav Leonhardt, Jos Van Immerseel, Jean-Claude Malgoire, Philippe Herreweghe… His most faithful affiliations are with Il Seminario Musicale by Gérard Lesne (1988-2004), and the Concert des Nations and Hesperion XX-XXI by Jordi Savall (1990-2005). In 1996, he founded Les Basses Réunies and self-produced his first solo recording: the sonatas of Antonio Vivaldi. This disc, welcomed by the Alpha label, received the Vivaldi prize from the Cini Foundation in Venice. About ten other recordings, praised by French and international music critics, led to regular invitations to perform in France, Europe, Quebec, and Russia. Each of these recording projects is linked to a sound and organological research collaboration with luthier Charles Riché. Nine instruments have emerged from this collaboration. As a musician-researcher, he thus offers a "plural" cello. He is now exclusively dedicated to this path and to teaching. In September 2005, he was appointed Professor of Baroque Cello at the Haute école de musique de Genève. Learn more about Bruno Cocset.

Lambert Colson

Professor of Cornetto

Lambert Colson studied with Françoise Defours, Pedro Memelsdorff, Bart Coen, Marleen Leicher, Bruce Dickey, and Gebhard David at institutions including the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, ESMUC in Barcelona, the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and the HFK in Bremen. His collaborations include working with ensembles and conductors such as Scherzi Musicali, Le Poème Harmonique (Vincent Dumestre), Holland Baroque, La Fenice (Jean Tubéry), Pygmalion (Raphaël Pichon), B’rock, Collegium Vocale (Philippe Herreweghe), Correspondances (Sébastien Daucé), Cappella Mediterranea (Leonardo Garcia Alarcon), and Continuum. He leads his own musical projects, directly derived from research undertaken in recent years with his ensemble InAlto. InAlto's most recent recordings have been critically acclaimed by the European press: Diapason d’Or & Diapason d’Or of the Year 2017, Choc de Classica, 5 stars Rondo Magazin, Joker Crescendo, Clé d’Or Res Musica, and selections of the year for Libération and Le Monde. He currently teaches cornetto, ensemble music, and ornamentation at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel and the Haute école de musique de Genève. In his continuous exploration of his instrument, he is pursuing a doctoral program focused on the mute cornett and its use in 17th-century Germany, in a joint project between the Koninklijk Conservatorium and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The thesis will be publicly presented in 2024. He has had several pieces dedicated to him by contemporary composers such as Zad Moultaka, Fabrice Fitch, and Bernard Foccroulle. Eager for unusual collaborations, he works with choreographer Catherine Contour and explores the practice of hypnosis. He increasingly explores the possibilities offered by his instruments in contemporary music, collaborating with artists like Liesa van der Aa, Shara Nova (My Brightest Diamond), Petur Ben, Mugison, and Efterklang. He is also involved in several jazz and improvisation projects with artists such as Emmanuel Baily, Xavier Rogé, Franck Vagané, Adam Woolf, Jon Birdsong, and Eric Vloeimans. Learn more about Lambert Colson.

Elizabeth Dobbin

Head of the Early Music Department

Elizabeth Dobbin is a passionate opera singer, artistic researcher, and dedicated teacher. She began her musical studies in childhood with lessons in theory, piano, and singing. After obtaining degrees with high honors in literature and law, she worked for many years as a lawyer in the finance and corporate law sectors in London and Sydney before turning to her true passion, early music. She earned her Master's degree from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in the Early Music Department and has regularly performed as a soloist and chorister in oratorio and opera, as well as in recitals across Europe with prominent names in Baroque music. With the ensemble Le Jardin Secret, she won the first prize and jury prize at the Early Music Network International Young Artists' Competition in York, England. She has participated in numerous radio broadcasts and recorded for labels such as Alpha, CORO, Aliud Records, Pentatone, Fuga Libera, and ORF. A passionate researcher, she obtained her PhD from Leiden University and the Orpheus Institute with a thesis on vocal practice in late 17th-century France, particularly in Parisian salons. With over twenty years of teaching experience, she is regularly invited to give lectures and masterclasses throughout Europe. Learn more about Elizabeth Dobbin.

Leonardo Garcia Alarcon

Professor of Maestro al Cembalo - Professor of Elements of Choral Conducting (for Maestro al Cembalo) - Madrigal Ensemble

Argentinian conductor, harpsichordist, and composer Leonardo García Alarcón has become a sought-after figure by major musical and opera institutions, from the Opéra de Paris to the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Grand Théâtre de Genève, where he began his career. After studying piano in Argentina, Leonardo García Alarcón moved to Europe in 1997 and joined the Conservatoire de Genève in the class of harpsichordist Christiane Jaccottet. Under the guidance of Gabriel Garrido, he ventured into Baroque music. In 2005, he founded his ensemble Cappella Mediterranea to explore Italian, Spanish, and South American Baroque music, a repertoire that has since expanded significantly. In residence at the Festival d’Ambronay, he achieved his first successes there, notably with the 2010 rediscovery of an oratorio by Michelangelo Falvetti: "Il Diluvio Universale." That same year, he took the direction of the Chœur de Chambre de Namur, recognized as one of the best Baroque choral ensembles today, and in 2014, he founded the Millenium Orchestra, focusing primarily on the works of Handel. Leonardo García Alarcón is also credited with the rediscovery of numerous operas by Cavalli, such as "Eliogabalo" at the Opéra de Paris in 2016, "Il Giasone" in Geneva, "Elena" and "Erismena" at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2017, and at the Opéra de Dijon: "El Prometeo" by Antonio Draghi in 2018, for which he rewrote the missing music of the third act, "La Finta Pazza" by Francesco Sacrati in 2019, and "Il Palazzo Incantato" by Luigi Rossi in late 2020, before its revival in Nancy and Versailles at the end of 2021. In 2022, he conducted a new production of Lully's famous "Atys," staged and choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj in Geneva and then in Versailles. Shortly after, he conducted Bach’s "St. Matthew Passion" with Cappella Mediterranea at La Seine Musicale and the Dijon auditorium, receiving high praise from critics. He returned to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in July with the successful production of Monteverdi’s "L'Incoronazione di Poppea," directed by Ted Huffman. In September 2022, he made his debut conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam for their annual gala, performing Handel’s "Acis and Galatea" (orchestrated by W.A. Mozart). This year also marked a new chapter in his career with the creation of his oratorio "La Passione di Gesù," his first major contemporary composition, warmly received by audiences at the Festival d’Ambronay and Victoria Hall in Geneva, with upcoming performances at the Festival de Saint-Denis and Grand Manège de Namur. As a conductor and harpsichordist, he is invited to festivals and concert halls worldwide. In November 2018, he conducted Monteverdi’s "Orfeo," directed by Sasha Waltz, at the Staatsoper Berlin and is a regular guest of Les Violons du Roy in Canada, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and the Gulbenkian Orchestra. He was recognized as the best conductor in the 2019 Forum Opéra rankings after his triumphant direction of "Les Indes Galantes" at the Opéra Bastille. Leonardo García Alarcón divides his time between France, Belgium, his native South America, and Switzerland, where he obtained citizenship. He places great importance on education, serving as a professor of the Maestro Al Cembalo class at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 2002. In 2020, he took on the directorship of La Cité Bleue, a 300-seat performance venue in Geneva currently under renovation, set to open in 2024, with its programming beginning in 2023 with an initial "off-site" season. His prolific discography is widely acclaimed by critics. In 2021, he released "Rebirth" (Sony Classical) with Sonya Yoncheva; "Lamenti & Sospiri" (Ricercar) with Mariana Flores and Julie Roset; Monteverdi’s "Orfeo" (Alpha Classics) with Valerio Contaldo, and "Bach before Bach" (Alpha Classics) with violinist Chouchane Siranossian. In 2022, he released Handel’s "Semele" with Millenium Orchestra and the Chœur de Chambre de Namur (Ricercar), followed by the world premiere recording of Sacrati’s "La Finta Pazza" (Versailles Spectacles). In 2023, "Amore Siciliano" (Alpha Classics), a project he conceived from popular and scholarly music of 17th- and 18th-century Italy, is set to be released. Leonardo García Alarcón is a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. Learn more about Leonardo García Alarcón.

Giulia Genini

Professor of Baroque Bassoon

Born in Lugano, Switzerland, Giulia Genini began her recorder studies at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana with Giorgio Merati. Her interest in early music and period instruments led her to Basel, where she continued her studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Conrad Steinmann. At the same time, she began studying the dulcian and baroque bassoon with Josep Borras and Donna Agrell. In 2008, she received her recorder diploma (performance and pedagogy) with distinction, and in 2010, her Master's degree in historical performance practice in baroque bassoon and dulcian, also with distinction. She performs as a recorder player and bassoonist with numerous international ensembles and works with renowned conductors. As a soloist, she has performed with the Venice Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Andrea Marcon at the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Schleswig Holstein Musikfestival, Settimane Musicali di Ascona, Geneva Victoria Hall, Carinthischer Sommer Festival Ossiach, and New York's Carnegie Hall. Since 2015, she has often been invited as a guest coach at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, coordinating wind sections for orchestral projects on historical performance practice. She also works there as a co-director of studies in the field of performance. She is a founding member and artistic director of the ensemble Concerto Scirocco as well as the artistic director of the Festival CaronAntica. Learn more about Giulia Genini.

Pierre Goy

Professor of Fortepiano, Clavichord, and Historical Keyboards

Pierre Goy studied piano with Fausto Zadra, Edith Murano, Esther Yellin, and Vlado Perlemuter, and attended masterclasses with Jörg Demus and Nikita Magaloff. A laureate of several competitions, he has performed concerts in Europe and the United States. Passionate about the expressive possibilities of historical instruments, he attended seminars by Paul Badura-Skoda and Jesper Christensen on rubato. Pierre Goy strives to render the music of each era with the corresponding instrument. He forms a duo with Nicole Hostettler, performing on two fortepianos, the harpsichord and fortepiano, or two clavichords. They recorded the keyboard works of J. G. Müthel (Cantando 2016). He also recorded Liszt's "Années de Pèlerinage: Première année: Suisse" on a Richard Lipp piano from 1870 (Cantando 9814). For the Lyrinx Srumenti label (LYR 247), he recorded Chopin's early works on a replica of an 1826 Graf fortepiano, a recording unanimously praised by critics (five Diapasons, a Coup de cœur - Revue du son). His recording "Claviers mozartiens" (LYR 2251) won a Diapason d’or, a Coup de cœur, and an Opus d’or – Opus Haute Définition. Recently, with Nicole Hostettler, he recorded the two-keyboard works of Armand Louis Couperin on the Taskin fortepiano and the Ruckers-Taskin harpsichord at the Musée de la Musique. In chamber music, he collaborates with members of "Il Giardino Armonico," the Quatuor Mosaïques, and the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges. He has published various articles on performance practice and instrument making. Pierre Goy is the instigator of the Rencontres Internationales Harmoniques de Lausanne, which has gathered instrument makers, musicians, musicologists, and museum curators around historical instruments every two years since 2002. Learn more about Pierre Goy.

Lucien Kandel

Professor of Historical Singing - Renaissance Vocal Ensemble

Lucien Kandel, singer and artistic director of the Ensemble Musica Nova, has specialized in early music repertoires after studying classical singing at the CNSMD of Lyon. He honed his skills with Marie-Claude Vallin, Gérard Geay, Dominique Vellard, and others, obtaining his advanced diploma in 1996. He quickly joined prestigious ensembles such as the Huelgas Ensemble, Doulce Mémoire, A Sei Voci, and Les Solistes de Lyon Bernard Têtu. He has also collaborated with Le Concert Spirituel under Hervé Niquet, Ensemble Jacques Moderne (Joël Suhubiette), and Elyma with Gabriel Garrido. Kandel has participated in numerous contemporary creations, notably with Daniel D'Adamo within Ensemble Poïésis, and has commissioned works from various composers such as Daniele Ghisi, Henry Fourès, and Saed Haddad. Since 2003, he has led Ensemble Musica Nova, assembling a team of singers to revisit and refine masterworks of the repertoire, including the famous Mass of Machaut. Their recordings have won numerous awards and high praise, including the Diapason d'Or of the Year 2003 and the Editor's Choice from the British magazine Gramophone in 2007. Since 2011, he has taught historical singing practice at the Haute école de musique de Genève and the DMA. He regularly gives masterclasses in various academies (Royaumont) and conservatories, covering a range from medieval to baroque singing. Learn more about Lucien Kandel

Stefan Legee

Professor of Sackbut

Stefan Legée began studying trombone in Reims with Amédé Grivillers before entering the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he obtained a first prize in trombone unanimously. He received the Certificate of Aptitude in trombone in 1985 and won third prize at the International Competition in Prague in 1987. A member of the brass quintet Magnifica from 1985 to 1990, he won several international prizes with this ensemble (Baltimore and Narbonne). In 1996, he obtained a certificate of advanced studies in sackbut with high honors at the CNSM of Lyon. From 1985 to 2006, Stefan Legée was the solo trombone of the Orchestre Colonne. He regularly performs with the Concerto Vocale conducted by René Jacobs, Hespérion XXI led by Jordi Savall, Europa Galante under Fabio Biondi, La Fenice by Jean Tubéry, the Sacqueboutiers de Toulouse, and the Concert Brisé led by William Dongois. He is also actively involved in contemporary music, playing with ensembles such as Erwartung (Bernard Desgraupes), Sine Qua Non (Nicolas Brochot), and Ars Nova (Philippe Nahon). In 1996, he premiered Dominique Probst's concerto for trombone and string orchestra, which was dedicated to him. He participated in concerts with Ensemble 2e2m from 2002 to 2005. Numerous recordings document his work. These include Ex Libris with La Fenice on Opus 111, L’âge d’or du cornet with the Concert Brisé and William Dongois on K 617, the Passione di Jesù by Caldara with Fabio Biondi for Virgin Veritas, and a monograph on Philippe Hersant with Ensemble Ader for Musique Française d’Aujourd’hui. Stefan Legée has given numerous masterclasses in sackbut. He teaches trombone and sackbut at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Saint Maur and sackbut at the Haute école de musique de Genève. Learn more about Stefan Legée.

Béatrice Martin

Professor of Harpsichord

Born in Annecy, Béatrice Martin began studying harpsichord at the age of six. Her musical journey led her to study with prominent harpsichordists such as Christiane Jaccottet at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, Kenneth Gilbert, and Christophe Rousset at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. She obtained numerous first prizes with highest honors and completed an advanced cycle of studies there. She also received valuable guidance from Huguette Dreyfus, Ton Koopman, and Lars-Ulrik Mortensen during masterclasses. In 1998, she won first prize at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, along with the Audience Prize and the Bärenreiter Prize. The following year, she was named a Revelation by ADAMI at MIDEM in Cannes. Highly regarded for her skills as a continuo player, she has performed at numerous festivals and with a variety of ensembles. She has been a close collaborator with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants for twenty years. Recognized for her teaching abilities, Béatrice Martin established the harpsichord class at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Barcelona and currently serves as a guest professor at the Juilliard School in New York. In 2000, Béatrice Martin co-founded Les Folies françoises with Patrick Cohën-Akenine, actively contributing to its development. Learn more about Béatrice Martin.

Anne Millischer

Professeur de violon baroque

Originaire du sud-ouest de la France, Anne Millischer commence très jeune ses études musicales. Elle obtient un Diplôme d’Etudes Musicales au Conservatoire National de Région de Toulouse dans la classe de violon de Chantal Crenne, avant de recevoir plusieurs diplômes de la Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève: un Diplôme d’Enseignement de violon et un Diplôme de Concert dans la classe de Robert Zimansky, ainsi qu’un Diplôme de Soliste de violon baroque «avec distinctions» dans la classe de Florence Malgoire. Parallèlement à ses longues études du violon dans les conservatoires, elle choisit d’enrichir et diversifier sa formation musicale. Elle pratique le piano durant quinze années à Toulouse, puis elle étudie le chant au Conservatoire Populaire de Genève dans la classe de Maria Diaconu avec qui elle obtient un Certificat d’Etudes avec mention. En intégrant différentes formations professionnelles telles que l’Orchestre Français des Jeunes symphonique, puis l’Orchestre Français des Jeunes Baroque, l’Académie Européenne d’Ambronay, l’Académie de la Fondation Royaumont, l’Académie du Festival de Rougemont, les Arts Florissants Juniors, elle bénéficie des conseils des plus grands noms de la scène musicale internationale classique et baroque: Lucy van Dael, Bob van Asperen, Olivier Baumont, Blandine Rannou, Guido Balestracci, William Dongois, Gérard Lesne, Emmanuel Krivine, Christophe Rousset, Gabriel Garrido, William Christie. En 2007, elle est engagée en tant que musicienne et co-directrice artistique de la tournée d’été «Il Concerto degli Angeli», et reçoit un Prix spécial Gilbert Albert Joaillerie récompensant non seulement «ses qualités de musicienne et de co-directeur artistique (…) démontrées brillamment», mais aussi parce qu’elle a su «faire face avec gentillesse et autorité à tous les problèmes qui se sont posés» et qu’elle a «en toutes circonstances, préservé l’unité du groupe». (Hubert PERRIN – Allocution de Clôture de la Tournée «Il Concerto Angelico» - Eté 2007) Depuis plusieurs années, elle se produit en soliste à Genève, Dijon, Villeneuve, Zermatt, Champs-sur-Marne, Toulouse, Paris, Lyon, Versailles, Rougemont, Megève, où «elle a su révéler de fabuleux dons de violoniste, confrontée à l’interprétation de cette musique baroque nécessitant de grandes qualités de virtuosité». (Evelyne PERINET-MARQUET – Le Dauphiné Libéré, Août 2007) Elle est également invitée à jouer dans diverses formations sur instruments historiques: l’Ensemble Elyma dirigé par Gabriel Garrido, Les Arts Florissants dirigé par William Christie, Les Talens Lyriques dirigé par Christophe Rousset, La Chambre Philharmonique dirigé par Emmanuel Krivine, La Nouvelle Ménestrandie et La Capella Mediterranea dirigés par Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, l’Ensemble Cantatio dirigé par John Duxbury, l’Ensemble Baroque du Léman dirigé par différents chefs invités. Parallèlement à ses activités de concertiste, Anne Millischer enseigne le violon baroque à la Haute école de musique de Genève depuis la rentrée 2023-24.

Laura Monica Pustilnik

Professor of Lute - Basso Continuo on the Instrument (for Lutenists)

After studying guitar and piano at the Conservatorio Nacional Lopez Buchardo in Argentina, Mónica Pustilnik completed her training in 2010 with a Master of Arts at the Schola Cantorum in Basel under Hopkinson Smith. She specializes in the baroque and renaissance repertoire for lute and completed her training with Jesper Christensen for basso continuo on the lute and harpsichord, Rolf Lislevand at the Musikhochschule in Trossingen, Germany, Michel Corboz in choral conducting at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Genève, and Jordi Mora in orchestral conducting in Barcelona. Mónica Pustilnik is very active as a soloist, chamber musician, and in opera or oratorio productions. She regularly performs and records with renowned ensembles such as Le Concert d’Astrée (dir. Emmanuelle Haïm), La Cappella Mediterranea (dir. Leonardo García Alarcón), Les Musiciens du Louvre (dir. Marc Minkowski), Les Talens Lyriques (dir. Christophe Rousset), Concerto Vocale (dir. René Jacobs), Ensemble Elyma (dir. Gabriel Garrido), Les Arts Florissants (W. Christie), and many others. Mónica Pustilnik has assisted in the musical direction of Cavalli’s Eliogabalo at the Opéra Garnier in Paris, Cavalli’s Elena at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at the Opéra de Lille, Cavalli’s Hipermestra at the Utrecht Early Music Festival, and L’Incoronazione di Poppea at the Haute école de musique de Genève. She has performed in recitals at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Poznan Festival (Poland), Ravello (Italy), Freunde Alter Musik Basel, and has developed numerous chamber music programs at the Opéra de Lille. In 2014, she directed performances of Cavalli’s Elena at the Opéra de Nantes and Angers. Mónica Pustilnik records for the labels Harmonia Mundi, Naïve, Virgin, Arcana, Glossa, and K617. Her solo recording, featuring works by Alessandro Piccinini for the Accent label in 2014, was highly praised by critics. Her pedagogical activities have led her to teach lute, basso continuo, and chamber music at the Escuela Superior de Música de Cataluña in Barcelona, the Conservatorio A. Scontrino in Trapani (Italy), and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. Mónica Pustilnik has been teaching lute at the Haute école de musique de Genève since September 2017. Learn more about Laura Monica Pustilnik

Chouchane Siranossian

Professor of Baroque Violin

Chouchane Siranossian, a violinist with an audacious career, has made a name for herself both in the international baroque scene and alongside numerous prestigious orchestras. Her exceptional virtuosity, enriched by her musicological research, opens up a new dimension of interpretation, making her a highly sought-after musician. Born in Lyon in 1984, she studied music and violin at the Conservatoire de musique de Romans and at the École supérieure de cordes in Sion. Admitted to the CNSM de Lyon in the class of Pavel Vernikov, she then joined Zakhar Bron at the Musikhochschule in Zurich, where she obtained her soloist diploma with the highest distinctions in 2007. Shortly after, she won the position of concertmaster with the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra, a role she held until the end of the 2008/2009 season. That same year, after meeting Reinhard Goebel, she decided to dedicate herself to the study of early music at the Mozarteum in Salzburg under his guidance, and has since regularly collaborated as a concertmaster under his direction. Drawing from this rich knowledge, her performances on period instruments and her cadenzas in major concertos from the repertoire, such as those by Mozart, Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Paganini, have been acclaimed by both the public and critics alike. Chouchane Siranossian regularly performs as a soloist with various orchestras on both modern and baroque violins. She has collaborated with musicians such as Bertrand Chamayou, Philippe Bianconi, Benjamin Engeli, Michel Béroff, Daniel Ottensamer, and others. In early music, she has worked alongside Jos van Immerseel, Dorothee Oberlinger, Kristin Von der Goltz, Rudolf Lutz, Rüdiger Lotter, Roy Goodman, and Vaclav Luks, among many others. Exploring a wide repertoire, Chouchane Siranossian places great importance on rediscovering and recording lesser-known works from the 18th and 19th centuries, regularly participates in the creation of new works, and collaborates with renowned composers. Learn more about Chouchane Siranossian

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  

Ricardo Castro

Head of the Keyboard Instruments Department - Professor of Piano

Born in Vitória da Conquista, a small town in northeastern Brazil, Ricardo Castro began playing the piano at the age of three. At five, he entered the School of Music and Arts at the University of Bahia, and three years later, he made his debut giving recitals. At the age of ten, Ricardo Castro performed Haydn's Piano Concerto in D major as a soloist. Several orchestral concerts and national prizes followed immediately. In 1984, he moved to Europe to study piano and conducting at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève with Maria Tipo and Arpad Gerecz, respectively. He also studied with Dominique Merlet in Paris. Castro won First Prize at the Rahn Competition in 1985 and the Josef Pembaur Competition in 1986. He graduated from the Conservatoire de Genève in 1987, receiving the First Prize of Virtuosity with distinction and congratulations from the jury. That same year, he became co-winner of the ARD International Music Competition in Munich and in 1988, he won Third Prize at the Géza Anda Competition. In 1993, he received First Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition, becoming the only South American winner to date. In 2003, he formed a piano duo with Maria João Pires. They performed a series of recitals in major European venues and released a CD of Schubert's works on Deutsche Grammophon. Ricardo Castro has recorded several other CDs with BMG/Arte Nova, both in recital and with orchestra. As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras such as the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Zurich Tonhalle, BBC Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Tokyo Philharmonic, and Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg. He has played and conducted in prestigious concert halls, including the Barbican Centre and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Santa Cecilia in Rome, Philharmonie de Paris, and Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. His partners have included Sir Simon Rattle, Midori, Leif Segerstam, Martha Argerich, Antonio Meneses, Yakov Kreizberg, Kazimierz Kord, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Maria João Pires, and Shlomo Mintz. In 2007, Ricardo Castro, invited by the government of the State of Bahia, founded NEOJIBA (Centers of Youth and Children's Orchestras of the State of Bahia), a pioneering program in Brazil. He serves as the general director of this program, which in 2020, involved around 6,000 young people and children throughout the State of Bahia. With the program's main orchestra, the NEOJIBA Orchestra, Ricardo Castro has conducted seven international tours, performing in some of the world's most important concert halls. In 2013, Ricardo Castro became the first Brazilian to be named an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society, joining the ranks of the greatest names in Western music. Highly committed to social causes, Ricardo Castro has dedicated a significant portion of his time to educational activities over the years. He is the founding director of the NEOJIBA Orchestra and a professor of advanced piano classes at the Haute école de musique de Genève and the Haute école de musique de Lausanne, as well as at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Italy.

Fabrizio Chiovetta

Professor of piano

Born in Geneva, with Swiss and Italian nationality, Fabrizio Chiovetta studied with Dominique Weber, John Perry, and Paul Badura-Skoda, becoming a favored disciple of the latter. He has given numerous concerts in Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East (Sommets Musicaux and Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Lisztomanias, Victoria Hall, Berlioz Festival, Schloss Elmau, Tonhalle, Princeton Piano Festival, NCPA in Mumbai, National Center in Beijing, Oriental Art Center in Shanghai). He has performed under the direction of Gábor Takács-Nagy, Arie van Beek, Mikael Toms, and Diego Matheuz. He is also a highly sought-after chamber musician, performing with partners such as the Belcea Quartet, Patrick Messina, Henri Demarquette, Benjamin Appl, Gautier Capuçon, Lise Berthaud, Pierre Fouchenneret, Camille Thomas, Alexandra Conunova, Sarah Nemtanu, Silvia Careddu, Sophie Karthäuser, Marc Coppey, Samuel Hasselhorn, and Werner Güra. He premiered Tristan Murail's solo piano piece "Le rossignol en amour" and made the first recording of chamber works by Arvo Pärt, Jan Rääts, and André Previn. Also an improviser, he collaborates with musicians from various backgrounds (Vincent Ségal, Grégoire Maret, Marthe Keller). His recordings for Palexa, Claves Records, and Aparté of works by Schumann, Schubert, Haydn, Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven have been praised by critics (Diapason, CHOC de CLASSICA, FonoForum, American Music Guide). His latest Schumann album was awarded an "Editor's Choice" by Gramophone and a 10/10 by Classics Today. Fabrizio Chiovetta has been teaching at the Haute école de musique de Genève on the sites of Geneva and Neuchâtel since 2009. "His playing is distinguished by its elegance, sense of balance, and refinement." - France Musique Learn more about Fabrizio Chiovetta.

Paul Coker

Professor of piano

Born in 1959 in London, Paul Coker studied piano in London at the Yehudi Menuhin School and then at the Royal College of Music. His notable teachers included Vlado Perlemuter and Nadia Boulanger. He also received private instruction from Alfred Brendel. A laureate of numerous awards, including the Jackson Master Award (Boston), he was also named BBC Musician of the Year in 1978. His solo career has led him to perform with major ensembles such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. Additionally, he was Yehudi Menuhin's partner for ten years. Together, they performed more than two hundred times on stages worldwide, covering the entire repertoire for violin and piano. A chamber music enthusiast, Paul Coker has also collaborated with violinists Pierre Amoyal, Joshua Bell, Nigel Kennedy, and cellists Steven Isserlis, Heinrich Schiff, and Ralph Kirshbaum. Paul Coker has been teaching piano at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 1995. Learn more about Paul Coker.

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.

Sylviane Deferne

Professor of piano

A committed musician with deep expressivity, Swiss pianist Sylviane Deferne has won the hearts of audiences across borders. Born in Geneva, she completed all her musical studies at the Conservatoire de musique de Genève, graduating with a unanimous Premier Prix de Virtuosité. After winning several competition prizes in Switzerland and abroad, she was named a soloist by the Community of Francophone Radios and quickly embarked on an international career. She has performed in Europe, America, and Asia with notable orchestras such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, and the Philharmonia Orchestra in London under the baton of Charles Dutoit. She also loves chamber music and tours with her brilliant colleagues and musician friends in Japan, Brazil, Italy, and Switzerland, creating memorable musical encounters. Sylviane Deferne has made numerous recordings for the DECCA, Musica Viva, Riche Lieu, and DORON music labels. Regularly invited as a jury member for international competitions, she shares her passion through masterclasses and with her professional students at the Haute école de musique de Genève, where she teaches piano. Since 2019, Sylviane Deferne has been the artistic director of the Artémont concerts. She brings her passion and personal vision of music to an ever-growing audience, developing significant moments and intergenerational sharing season after season. Her new solo album, "Der Wanderer," dedicated to Schubert, was released in autumn 2022 by Aparté. Learn more about Sylviane Deferne.

François Dumont

Professor of Piano

François Dumont is a laureate of major international competitions such as the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, the Queen Elisabeth Competition, and the Monte-Carlo Piano Masters. Nominated for the Victoires de la Musique, he received the Prix de la Révélation from the French Musical Criticism. He performs as a soloist with the Orchestre National de France conducted by François-Xavier Roth, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Musikverein in Vienna, and on tour in Japan. Leonard Slatkin invited him to record Ravel's two concertos with the Orchestre National de Lyon for Naxos. He participates in major festivals such as La Chaise-Dieu, Radio-France Montpellier, Piano aux Jacobins, La Roque d’Anthéron, Chopin in Nohant, Chopin Societies of Paris and Geneva, and the Palazzetto Bru Zane in Venice. Born in Lyon, he studied with Pascale Imbert, Chrystel Saussac, and Hervé Billaut, and at fourteen, he joined the CNSMD of Paris in Bruno Rigutto’s class. He furthered his studies at the International Academy of Côme and the Lieven Piano Foundation with Dmitri Bashkirov, Leon Fleisher, William Grant Naboré, Murray Perahia, Menahem Pressler, Andreas Staier, and Fou Ts’ong. His discography includes over 35 albums, featuring the complete Mozart Sonatas, the complete piano works of Ravel, Beethoven and Schubert trios, as well as recordings of Bach, Chopin, Wagner/Liszt, Fauré, and Mussorgsky, and an ongoing complete series of Mozart concertos with the Orchestre National de Bretagne. He is an avid chamber musician, performing with Sayaka Shoji, Augustin Dumay, Laurent Korcia, Marc Coppey, Henri Demarquette, Xavier Phillips, the Prazak and Voce quartets, and explores Lied with his wife, soprano Helen Kearns. He actively collaborates with composers such as Bacri, Dusapin, Finzi, Lacaze, Murail, and Tanguy. Passionate about teaching and pedagogy, he is invited to give masterclasses in Europe and Japan. Learn more about François Dumont.

Nelson Goerner

Professor of Piano

--- Nelson Goerner will not be taking on any new students for the start of the 2025-26 academic year --- Born in 1969 in San Pedro, Argentina, Nelson Goerner began studying piano at the age of five with Jorge Garruba and continued his studies at the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires with Juan Carlos Arabian and Carmen Scalcione. He gave his first concert in his hometown in 1980 and won the First Prize at the Franz Liszt Competition in Buenos Aires in 1986. Thanks to his exceptional talent, Martha Argerich awarded him a scholarship to study at the Conservatoire de Genève in Maria Tipo's virtuosity class. September 1990 marked a turning point in his career when he won the First Prize at the Geneva Competition unanimously for his performance of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, which invited him back the following season to perform Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1. This award led to numerous concerts in Europe and a successful tour in Japan. Since then, Nelson Goerner has been invited by most major French festivals and has given recitals in many European cities. He also performs chamber music with the Takács Quartet in the UK, Spain, Italy, and France, the Carmina Quartet in Switzerland, the Ysaye Quartet in Holland, and with Steven Isserlis and Vadim Repin in London. Nelson Goerner has performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Claus-Peter Flor, the London Philharmonic and the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague under Franz Welser-Möst, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra with Neeme Järvi, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Andrew Davis, the Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and David Zinman, the Netherlands Philharmonic and Vassily Sinaisky, the Bordeaux and Montpellier Orchestras with Yutaka Sado, the Orchestre National de France and Hans Graf, among many others. His future engagements include concerts with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Liège Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, and recitals in London, Paris, Lyon, Manchester, and Dallas. Nelson Goerner has recorded a Chopin recital (EMI Classics), a Rachmaninov recital and the 12 Transcendental Etudes by Liszt for Cascavelle, Rachmaninov's Preludes and Piano Concerto No. 3 with the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Vassily Sinaisky, Busoni's works for piano and orchestra, Liszt's concertos, a Brahms and Schubert recital for Cascavelle, and a new work by John Lord for EMI Classics. His recent recordings of Chopin on historical instruments have earned him a Diapason d'Or. Learn more about Nelson Goerner.

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.

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  

Cédric Pescia

Professor of Piano

Born in Lausanne, holding Swiss and French nationality, Cédric Pescia studied at the Conservatories of Lausanne (with Christian Favre) and Geneva (with Dominique Merlet), at the Universität der Künste in Berlin (with Klaus Hellwig), and at the International Piano Academy Lake Como (with D. Bashkirov, L. Fleisher, A. Staier, W. G. Naboré, and Fou T’song). Additionally, he perfected his skills with P.-L. Aimard, D. Barenboim, D. Fischer-Dieskau, I. Gage, I. Gronich, C. Zacharias, and the Alban Berg Quartet. He won the First Prize at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in 2002 in Salt Lake City, USA. He gives recitals and concerts with orchestras in Europe, the USA, China, and South America: Philharmonie and Konzerthaus Berlin, Konzerthaus Vienna, Wigmore Hall London, Mozarteum Salzburg, Carnegie Hall New York, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Tonhalle Zurich, Prague Spring Festival, Lucerne Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Davos Festival, Klavierfestival Ruhr. He has a long-standing collaboration with violinist Nurit Stark. He is the artistic director of the chamber music series Ensemble enScène in Lausanne. He is a laureate of the Leenaards Foundation in Lausanne and the Music Prize of the Vaud Foundation for Culture. For Claves Records, Aeon, BIS, Genuin, La Dolce Volta, he has recorded works by Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Couperin, Messiaen, Debussy, Cage, Busoni, Enescu, and Gubaidulina. In 2012, he was appointed Professor of Piano at the Haute école de musique de Genève. Learn more about Cédric Pescia

Louis Schwizgebel

Professor of Piano

Born in 1987 in Geneva, Louis Schwizgebel studied with Brigitte Meyer in Lausanne and Pascal Devoyon in Berlin. At the age of seventeen, he won the Geneva Competition and two years later, the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York. He then studied at the Juilliard School in New York with Emanuel Ax and Robert McDonald, and in London at the Royal Academy with Pascal Nemirovski. In 2012, he won the 2nd prize at the Leeds Piano Competition and was named a BBC New Generation Artist. Louis Schwizgebel performs with orchestras such as the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, all the BBC orchestras, all the Swiss symphony orchestras including the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre National du Capitol de Toulouse, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wiener Symphoniker, and the Hungarian National Orchestra. He has worked with conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Fabio Luisi, Marek Janowski, Vasily Petrenko, Lahav Shani, Joshua Weilerstein, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, Emmanuel Krivine, Robin Ticciati, James Gaffigan, Edward Gardner, Thierry Fischer, Domingo Hindoyan, John Wilson, and Fabien Gabel. He appears at festivals such as the BBC Proms, Verbier, Lucerne, Gstaad, Progetto Martha Argerich, Festival Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey, Bergen, Usedom, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Rheingau, and Klavier-Festival Ruhr. Louis Schwizgebel records for the Aparté label (Harmonia Mundi). In 2013, he released his first solo album "Poems," followed by Beethoven's Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Saint-Saëns' Concertos Nos. 2 & 5 with the BBC Symphony. His latest album is dedicated to composer Franz Schubert, featuring Sonatas D845 & 958. Learn more about Louis Schwizgebel

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.

Andrea Bandini

Professor of Trombone

Andrea Bandini began his music studies in 1973 at the Music School of Siena in Italy and obtained his trombone diploma in 1980 at the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Music in Florence. In 1978 he joined the Italian Youth Orchestra under the direction of Franco Ferrara. In 1981, he decided to perfect his skills at the Geneva Conservatory of Music in the class of Roland Schnorhk, where he obtained the 1st prize for virtuosity with distinction in 1985. The same year, he won the 1st prize at the Riddes Competition, the 3rd prize at the Markneuenkirchen Competition and the following year the bronze medal at the Bordeaux International Festival of Young Soloists. Since 1986, Andrea Bandini has been a member of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and has been appointed solo trombone until 2011. From 1984 to 2008 he was a member of the contemporary music ensemble, Contrechamps, an ensemble with which he was fortunate enough to rub shoulders with the greatest contemporary music composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Invited as a jury member in the most important international trombone competitions, Andrea Bandini has been teaching at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 1999. Andrea Bandini is also regularly invited to participate in masterclasses and brass festivals throughout the world. He is also a consultant for the " Free-flow Valve " system for trombone, invented by Rene Hagmann, owner of the " Servette-Musique " shop in Geneva. Andrea Bandini bought his first slide trombone and his first classical music record in Florence in 1976. It was a recording of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande by Ernest Ansermet. After having listened to it many times, Andrea Bandini announced to his father that he would one day perform with this orchestra.... 10 years later, he joins the OSR. Learn more about Andrea Bandini  

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

Ricardo Carvalhoso

Professeur de Tuba et Euphonium

One of the most prominent tuba players of his generation, Ricardo Carvalhoso has built his career on a singing and energetic approach to brass playing, leading him to win jobs in several orchestras across Europe.  Since 2017 he is Principal Tuba of the Munich Philharmonie Orchestra. Prior to this engagement, Carvalhoso was Tuba-Solo of the Nice Philharmonie Orchestra and later he assumed the same position with the Orchestra of the Zurich Opera House Philharmonia Zurich.  His orchestral activity has led him to perform in some of the most important concert halls around the globe, including New York, Tokyo, Paris, London, Berlin and Vienna.  ln 2014 he played Vaughan Williams' Tuba Concerto with the Nice Philharmonie Orchestra under the direction of Walter Hilgers.  Between 2009 and 2011 he was awarded with a series of international prizes including the Young Musicians Award in Portugal, the "Aosta Valley" Brass Competition in ltaly, the Tuba Competition "Ville d'Avray" in France and the Music Prize of the Kiefer Hablitze\ Foundation in Switzerland. His musical education started in Portugal at the age of 14 years old and his first teachers included Juan Carlos Diaz, Chris Lee, Eduardo Nogeroles and Sergio Carolino. After graduating from Porto University of Music and Performing Arts, he pursued his Master Degree in Switzerland with Anne Je lie Visser.  Ricardo Carvalhoso plays Yamaha instruments and is a sought-after pedagogue and soloist. Learn more about Ricardo Carvalhoso

Aline Champion

Professor of Violin

Aline Champion was accepted into the Haute Ecole de Musique of Geneva at the age of 12, thus becoming the youngest student admitted, a record which stands to this day. The same year she made her solo debut at the Victoria Hall in Geneva, which marked the start of her career. She continued her studies with teachers such as Tibor Varga and Pierre Amoyal before joining Philipp Hirschhorn’s class at the Utrecht Conservatory in the Netherlands, finishing her studies with Viktor Libermann. She graduated with distinctions. Throughout her studies, Aline has had the privilege to work with artists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Sandor Vegh, Nathan Milstein and Itzahk Perlmann, all of whom have influenced her notably. Aline has been invited in some of the most prestigious concert halls, including the Royal Albert Hall in Londres, the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Tonhalle in Zürich as well as the KKL in Lucerne. She has also performed at the Lucerne Festival, at the Mostly Haydn Festival in London and the Easter Festival in Baden-Baden. Passionate about chamber music, she has collaborated with Murray Perahia, Tibor Varga, Katia et Marielle Labèque, Emmanuel Pahud, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Christian Poltera, Baiba et Lauma Skride, Markus Groh, Wolfram Christ and Peter Ustinov. Alongside her career as a solo artist, she became the concertmaster of the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra before joining the 1st violins of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 2000. Aline graduated as a psychotherapist (HP) in 2017, specializing in Performance Coaching. She developed her own method tailored for musicians, blending her stage experience with knowledge drawn from neuroscience, sports, and the business world. Her close collaboration with Jean-Pierre Egger, coach to numerous world and Olympic champions, has greatly enriched her perspective. Since 2018, she has been regularly leading conferences and seminars for musicians, where she explores key topics such as work organization, stage fright management, concentration, motivational strategies, confidence building, and the development and mastery of stage presence, providing comprehensive support. As pedagogue, she has been teaching at the Music University in Geneva since 2018. She was a tutor for several years at the Schleswig Holstein Orchestra Academy Festival, and is regularly invited to give masterclasses in France, Switzerland, the United States, Italy, Singapore and China. In 2005, she was honored by University of Shanghai with the title of Professor Honoris Causa, and in 2011, she was named Professor of Christchurch University in New-Zealand. Aline was also awarded an honorary citizenship by the municipality of Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, in Switzerland. In 2022, she created in 2022 the Villars Music Academy, pioneering a holistic approach to music making, in collaboration with world-class musicians and speakers, where she is the Director. Learn more about Aline Champion.

Bertrand Chatenet

Professor of Horn

Born in 1990 in Paris, Bertrand Chatenet began learning the horn with Patrice Petitdidier at the Conservatoire de Gennevilliers, then with Jérome Rouillard (horn), Paul Meyer, and Eric Lesage (wind quintet). In 2009, he studied alongside Erich Penzel, Christian Lampert, and Christoph Ess at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart, and in 2013 with Christian-Friedrich Dallmann and Sebastian Posch at the Berlin University of the Arts. Since 2010, he has mainly performed as a soloist with major orchestras such as the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR), the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. He is currently the principal horn of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and an assistant professor at the UDK in Berlin. Learn more about Bertrand Chatenet.

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

Amaury Coeytaux

Professor of violin

- Amaury Coeytaux to join the HEM at the start of the 2025-2026 academic year. -- Over the last few years, Amaury Coeytaux has established himself as one of the most outstanding violinists of his generation. As The Strad Magazine points out, it is “his great musical sensitivity, impeccable technique and warm sound” that have won him the affection of audiences in the world's greatest concert halls. A student of Micheline Lefebvre, Jean-Jacques Kantorow and Pinchas Zukerman, he gave his first recital at the age of 9 and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2004. Since then, he has performed as soloist and chamber musician with Pinchas Zukerman, Yefim Bronfman, Frank Braley, Nicholas Angelich, Gérard Caussé and Myung-Whun Chung at major festivals including La Roque d'Anthéron, Menton, Colmar, Lugano, Salzburg, Rheingau, Bucharest Festival Enescu and Amsterdam. Now concertmaster of the Modigliani Quartet, he can be heard in the most prestigious concert halls, including the Philharmonie de Paris, the Hamburg Philharmonie, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Bilbao Philharmonie, the Prinzregententheater in Munich... With the Modigliani Quartet, he has also been artistic director of the Saint Paul de Vence Festival and the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition since 2020. Passionate about the orchestral repertoire, he collaborates with conductors such as Myung-whun Chung, Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Tugan Sokhiev. He regularly conducts and performs as soloist with the Radio France Philharmonic, the Strasbourg Philharmonic, the Toulouse Capitole, the Spanish Radio Orchestra, the Navarre Symphony Orchestra, the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra... Following the release of his latest disc devoted to the Brahms sonatas, he received unanimous praise from international critics, as well as the highest distinctions from Diapason, Classica and Télérama. His discography highlights the richness of his different musical horizons, with concertante works by Ysaye, Brahms trios and numerous quartet recordings, including the complete Schubert quartets released by Mirare in 2022. Amaury Coeytaux plays a 1715 Stradivarius violin.

Miguel Da Silva

Professor of Viola

Miguel da Silva trained at the Conservatoire National de Région de Reims before joining the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he studied with Serge Collot and Maurice Crut. He received a first prize in chamber music and a first prize in viola, both unanimously and with a special jury vote. In 1985, he won the Premier Grand Prix at the International Chamber Music Competition in Paris and joined the Orchestre de l'Opéra de Paris. In 1987, he left the Opera to form the Ysaÿe Quartet with three friends. After working with the Lasalle, Amadeus, Italiano, and Berg quartets, the ensemble won numerous first prizes, including the Evian Competition in 1988, and began a successful international career. After debuting with Harmonia Mundi, the quartet signed an exclusive contract with Decca, for whom they recorded, among others, the complete Mendelssohn quartets, two discs dedicated to Fauré, and collections featuring Debussy and Ravel. Contemporary creation is essential for the ensemble, which has premiered numerous works by Pascal Dusapin, André Boucourechliev, and Noam Sheriff. Miguel da Silva has also performed with partners such as Michel Portal, Pierre Amoyal, Truls Mork, Gary Hoffman, Pascal Rogé, Jean-Claude Pennetier, and Emmanuel Pahud. As a soloist, he has been invited by the Polish Chamber Orchestra, the Montpellier Orchestra, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra of Budapest, the Sinfonia Varsovia, and the orchestra Les Siècles. In 1993, he and the Ysaÿe Quartet founded a string quartet class at the CRR de Paris, a first in France. Their students (including the Ebène, Modigliani, Psophos, Voce, Aviv, and Incanto quartets) have won numerous international string quartet competitions. He is also the artistic director of the summer academy Musique à Flaine, artistic advisor of the Académie Musicale de Villecroze, and founder of Ysaÿe Records, a record label. A Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, Miguel da Silva plays a Cremonese viola from 1790 and is a professor of viola at the Haute école de musique. Learn more about Miguel da Silva.

Christophe Delannoy

Professor of Percussion - Sight-Reading (Percussion) - Orchestral Excerpts in Section or Tutti (Percussion)

Christophe Delannoy studied in Paris at the Conservatoire de Bourg-la-Reine, where he obtained a Gold Medal and a First Prize in percussion. He then attended the Conservatoire de Créteil, where he was awarded the First Prize in percussion. Finally, at the Conservatoire de Genève, he trained in acoustic and musical management. He began his career as a percussionist with numerous ensembles, including the Orchestre Philharmonique des Pays de Loire, the Orchestre de Picardie, the Orchestre de Chambre d'Ile de France, and the Orchestre Erwartung d'Ile-de-France. In 1996, he joined the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande as the first percussionist and snare drum soloist. He has participated in numerous musical projects with the International Percussion Center, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, among others. Christophe Delannoy teaches percussion at the Haute école de musique de Genève. Learn more about Christophe Delannoy.

François Desforges

Professeur of Percussion

François Desforges began studying percussion with Daniel Ardaillon in Montluçon and continued his education with Didier Benetti and Frédéric Macarez in Paris. Concurrently, he studied Latin percussion with Miguel Fiannaca. In 1992, François Desforges was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in the class of Jacques Delecluse and Jean Geoffroy. He graduated in 1995 with a unanimous First Prize. That same year, he joined the Orchestre National de France and obtained the Certificate of Aptitude for teaching percussion. In 1998, he also received a First Prize in chamber music at the CNSM de Paris in the class of Jacques Ivaldi and Michel Cals. Within the Orchestre National de France, he holds the position of Solo Timpanist. With this renowned ensemble, he has participated in numerous projects and international tours under the baton of prestigious conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Osawa, Kurt Masur, Daniele Gatti, Bernard Haitink, and Cristian Macelaru, the current music director. Beyond his orchestral activities, François Desforges is passionate about pedagogy. After many years of teaching at the conservatory of the 5th arrondissement of Paris and at the CRD of Créteil, he joined the prestigious Haute école de musique de Genève in 2016 to teach timpani. This esteemed institution allows him to share his passion with students from around the world. He is regularly invited to give masterclasses on orchestral timpani. As a chamber musician, François Desforges is a member of the ensemble Ad ONF, comprised of percussionists from the Orchestre National de France. This variable-geometry ensemble was created in 2004 around the project "Ballet Mécanique" by Georges Antheil, initiated by René Bosc, then director of musical creation at Radio-France. Since its creation, Ad ONF has been a regular guest at numerous festivals such as the Présences Festival at Radio-France, La Roque d’Anthéron, Les Folles Journées de Nantes, and the Bel Air Festival in Chambéry. Many artists have collaborated with Ad ONF, including Marielle and Katia Labèque, Bertrand Chamayou, Jean Frédéric Neuburger, Magali Mosnier, Markus Lindberg, Thierry Escaich, and Thomas Adès. François Desforges also performs with various other partners such as the "inclassifiable" group Quai n°5, the Accentus Chamber Choir directed by Laurence Equilbey, the Sequenza 9.3 vocal ensemble directed by Catherine Simonpietri, the "family" Artie’s, and more recently with the Consuelo Orchestra under the direction of Victor-Julien Laferrière. Learn more about François Desforges.

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

Pierre Fouchenneret

Professor of Violin

An insatiable artist with a discography of over twenty albums, Pierre Fouchenneret dedicates several years of his life to the works of a single composer, often surrounding himself with the finest chamber musicians to record a complete set. In 2016, he recorded the complete violin and piano sonatas of Beethoven with Romain Descharmes for Aparte. In 2018, the first volume of a complete set of Gabriel Fauré's chamber music was released, featuring Simon Zaoui and Raphaël Merlin. He also embarked on the ambitious project of performing all of Brahms' chamber music with the Strada Quartet, Eric Lesage, Florent Pujuila, Adrien Boisseau, and others. The complete set was released by B-Records during the 2018 to 2021 seasons. In the spring of 2020, his recording of Schubert and Raphaël Merlin's octets was released, featuring Nicolas Baldeyrou, David Guerrier, and Marc Desmons, among others. A child prodigy, Pierre Fouchenneret won his first prize in violin and chamber music at the CNSM de Paris at the age of 16 in the classes of Olivier Charlier and Daria Hovora. He later won the Grand Prix at the International Chamber Music Competition of Bordeaux, the Grand Prix Georges Enesco from Sacem, and became a laureate of the Natixis Foundation and an associate artist of the Singer Polignac Foundation. Invited to stages worldwide, the "extraordinary bow" (Le Figaro) of Pierre Fouchenneret quickly led him to perform with exceptional musicians such as the Fine Arts Quartet, Jean-François Heisser, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, Zong Xu, Julien Leroy, and Nicolas Angelich. In 2013, he founded the Strada Quartet with Sarah Nemtanu, Lise Berthaud, and François Salque. Pierre Fouchenneret is highly regarded by French and international orchestras for his boldness and vision of the repertoire. He has been invited by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Bordeaux, the Brno Philharmonic, the Philharmonics of Nice and Strasbourg, the Baltic of Saint Petersburg, and the Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle-Aquitaine. A sought-after teacher, Pierre Fouchenneret is professor at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Geneva. Learn more about Pierre Fouchenneret.

Ophélie Gaillard

Cello Professor

An insatiable curiosity, a taste for risk, an immoderate appetite for the whole of the concerted cello repertoire, complete disregard of limits and petty quarrels: those are no doubt the features that have always set this brilliant Franco-Swiss musician apart. Her passion? Working from the sources, inquiring into the text, using her virtuosity to bring out the musical discourse and make the music loved by all. Named  “Revelation: Solo Instrumentalist of the Year” at the French Classical Music Awards (Victoires) in 2003, she has since appeared in recital at many reknowed venues: Concertgebouw Bruges and Amsterdam; Bozar and Flagey, Brussels; the theatres of Bordeaux, Avignon, Poissy, Aix-en-Provence; the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; Oji Hall, Tokyo; London’s Wigmore Hall, as well as the most prestigous Orchestras such as l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, le Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, le Czech National Symphony Orchestra ou le New Japan Philharmonic Fond of encounters, she regularly shares the stage with Lambert Wilson, hip-hop dancer Ibrahim Sissoko, choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Damien Jalet, dancer Hugo Marchand (Etoile of the Opéra National de Paris), or Brazilian star singer of bossa nova Toquinho (live album Canto de sereia recorded for Aparté at the MiTo festival in 2017). In 2005, she found Pulcinella, a collective of virtuosos with a passion for performance practice on period instruments. The recording devoted to Vivaldi, Boccherini and Bach reaped excellent ratings and several awards, among them a DIAPAON D’OR of the year. A sought-after teacher, she regularly gives masterclasses in Europe, Asia and Central America. She is regularly invited as a member of the Jury at the ARD and Geneva Competitions and in 2014 she was appointed Professor at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Geneva. Ophélie Gaillard plays a cello by Francesco Goffriller (1737), generously on loan from the CIC, and also an anonymous Flemish violoncello piccolo. Learn more about Ophélie Gaillard

Claude Gastaldin

Professor of Drums - North Indian Rhythm - Tabla & Konakol

Claude Gastaldin is the author of several works dedicated to the study of rhythm. He graduated with honors in 1986 from the Percussion Institute of Technology in Los Angeles, where he studied with notable musicians such as Ralph Humphrey, E. Toro, A. Acuna, and J. Porcaro. He began his international career in 1985, performing as a drummer with various bands in numerous countries and participating in many recordings. Currently, he divides his time between his career as a musician and composer through multiple experiences (live performances and studio work) and intense pedagogical activities. In the musical field, he primarily focuses on the group Stoa, which he initiated, and also supports various musicians and artists, particularly Occitan ones, in their projects (Luc Aussibal, J. Privat, B. Manciet, etc.). He also regularly collaborates with Indian musicians N. Battacharya, J. Oumabady, M. Jadhav, and L. K. Sharma, and has recently composed several pieces for percussion quartets and classical orchestras. Regarding his pedagogical activity: in addition to his position as a professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève and occasional engagements at various educational institutions (Conservatories, Training Centers, Workshops, and Schools), he is the national educational director of the Hohner Sonor Music Academy. He is also a demonstrator artist for a major European drum brand, for which he regularly performs showcases.

Laurent Gay

Professor of Orchestral Conducting - Elements of Orchestral Conducting (for Choral Conductors)

Holder of the orchestral conducting class at the Haute école de musique de Genève, Laurent Gay has conducted a vast number of concerts in Europe, Asia, and South America, covering a wide repertoire. He has regularly conducted, among others, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Contrechamps, and the Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Lyon. He has also conducted the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the Lausanne Sinfonietta, the Orchestre de Bretagne, the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie, the Regional Orchestra of Lower Normandy, the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra (Denmark), the State Symphony Orchestra of Bahia (Brazil), the Deajon Philharmonic Orchestra (South Korea), the Ensemble Orchestral de Genève (artistic director from 1986 to 1996), and the Festival Amadeus Orchestra (artistic director from 1999 to 2004). Laurent Gay has also conducted numerous opera productions, notably at the Opéra de Lausanne, the Opéra National de Lyon, and the Royal Opera of Versailles. Many of the productions he has conducted have been broadcast on several Swiss and French national radio and television channels. He is also featured in several discographic productions, leading the Festival Amadeus Orchestra, Ensemble Contrechamps, and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. Deeply committed to contemporary music, he has led the premieres of around thirty works, including Xavier Dayer's opera "Le Marin." As an invited jury member of several international competitions, Laurent Gay has always been interested in teaching and has consistently been involved in this field. He has given masterclasses and conducted conducting workshops in several European countries, as well as in Brazil as part of the NEOJIBA program and in China at the Shanghai Conservatory. A recognized pedagogue, he now dedicates a significant portion of his activities to teaching orchestral conducting.

Patrick Genet

Professor of violin

Born in Lausanne, Patrick Genet began playing the violin at the age of five and achieved virtuosity in the class of Thomas Füri. He then furthered his studies with R. Shevelov and A. Grumiaux. In 1976, he was awarded first prize at the Swiss Jeunesses Musicales competition. He also won the soloist prize from the Swiss Musicians' Association. During his distinguished career as a soloist, Patrick Genet has performed under conductors such as Armin Jordan, Emmanuel Krivine, Uri Segal, and Thierry Fischer. He served as the concertmaster of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra from 1987 to 1990. Chamber music is the cornerstone of Patrick Genet's career. As a founding member of the Musiviva Trio, he won first prize at the Colmar competition. He also co-founded the Quatuor Sine Nomine, with which he regularly performs. The quartet was awarded first prize at the Evian Competition in 1985 and won the press prize at the Borciani Competition in 1987. Numerous recordings document the quartet's work, including Schubert collections on the Cascavelle label, Brahms programs on Claves, and the quartet "Ainsi la nuit" by Henri Dutilleux for Erato. From 1980 to 1995, Patrick Genet taught at the Conservatory of Fribourg. Many of his students continued their studies in Basel, Vienna, London, or Bloomington, while others were engaged by the Tonhalle Orchestra or the Zurich Opera. As a professor of chamber music at the Haute École de musique de Lausanne, he has been teaching violin at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 1995. Learn more about Patrick Genet.

Romain Guyot

Professor of clarinet

Romain Guyot won the prestigious Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York in 1996. Noticed at the age of seventeen by Claudio Abbado while playing in the European Union Youth Orchestra, he served as principal clarinet of the Opéra National de Paris (1991-2001) and later with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (2003-2006). In 2008, he was chosen as the new principal clarinet for the renowned Chamber Orchestra of Europe (COE). Romain Guyot is an artistic advisor for Buffet Crampon and Rico International. Since 2009, he has been a professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève. Learn more about Romain Guyot.

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.

Ori Kam

Professeur d'Alto

Considéré par le New York Times comme « une présence sur scène attractive et engagée », l’altiste Ori Kam s’est produit en solistes sur les scènes les plus prestigieuses. Ori Kam est né en 1975 de parents Israéliens à La Jolla et a grandi en Israël. Il commence à étudier la musique à l’âge de 6 ans et commence à jouer de l’alto à 15 ans. En Israël, il étudie auprès du professeur renommé Chaim Taub, puis à la Manhattan School of Music in New York auprès de Pinchas Zukerman et enfin auprès de Wilfried Strehle à l’Universität der Künste de Berlin. Il fait ses débuts à l’âge de 16 ans au sein de l’Orchestre philharmonique d’Israël qui le réengage immédiatement. Depuis lors, Ori Kam donne de nombreux récitals aux États-Unis, en Europe et en Israël. Sa prestation au Weill Recital hall (Carnegie Hall) a fait l’éloge de la critique, qui dépeint Ori Kam comme « un altiste soliste rare » au jeu « empreint à la fois de maturité et d’exubérance juvénile ». Passionné de musique de chambre, Ori Kam joue au sein du Jerusalem String Quartet. Il est le fondateur de la Société israélienne de musique de chambre et faisait partie du Whitman String Quartet, lauréat du prix de la Fondation Naumburg. Il se produit par ailleurs aux côtés d’artistes tels que Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim, Isaac Stern, Andras Schiff, Itzhak Perlman ou Pinchas Zukerman. Il donne des concerts avec la Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center et est invité par de nombreux festivals. Ori Kam a reçu plusieurs titres et récompenses, dont le Prix Suisse au Concours international de Genève, le prix Paganini du Concours Lionel Tertis et, en 1995, le prix du concours de concerto de l’École de musique de Manhattan. En 2010, le Grand prix de la fondation S&R Washington lui est attribué. Il est par ailleurs au bénéfice d’une bourse d’études de la Fondation culturelle israélo-américaine de 1990 à 2000. Il enseigne l’alto depuis 2010 à la Haute école de musique de Genève. Il signe un premier enregistrement commercial en 2007 sous le label « Berlin Classics », avec le Double concerto pour alto et clarinette de Bruch, qu’il enregistre avec sa sœur Sharon. Un CD comprenant 12 Fantaisies de Telemann pour alto solo suit en 2010 sous le même label. On peut également l’entendre sous les labels Decca et Naxos. Il effectue par ailleurs régulièrement des enregistrements pour Harmonia Mundi avec le Jerusalem Quartet. En savoir plus sur Ori Kam

Patrick Lehmann

Head of the Orchestral Instruments Department

Patrick Lehmann was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds and began playing the trumpet at the age of eight. Jazz quickly became his first passion, and he pursued classical music studies concurrently, first in his hometown, then in Versailles and Lausanne. Early music (on period instrument replicas), contemporary music, and jazz are all part of his cultural horizon. As a partner to renowned jazz musicians, he notably played with the Big Band of the EBU (European Broadcasting Union). He performed concerts and recorded a CD during a tour in Canada and participated in the Montreux Jazz Festival. Subsequently, Patrick Lehmann became a member of the Swiss Festival Orchestra in Lucerne. As an orchestral musician, chamber musician, and soloist, he performs in Switzerland and abroad (Korea, USA, Canada, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Luxembourg, etc.) and has made numerous recordings (jazz, baroque, and contemporary music), some of which have been critically acclaimed (Novus brass quartet). Active on the baroque scene, he plays with various European ensembles. His teaching profession has led him to collaborate with El Sistema in Caracas, Venezuela, and in his role at the Haute école de musique de Genève, he forges close ties with NEOJIBA in Salvador de Bahia and the Edward Said National Conservatory of Palestine.

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.

Antonello Mazzucco

Professeur de trombone basse

Antonello Mazzucco est diplômé du Conservatoire S. Cecilia de Rome, avec 9,50/10. Parallèlement, il fréquente le Konservatorium fur Musik de Berne dans la classe de P. Bucher. Aux États-Unis, il étudie avec C. Vernon, trombone basse de l'Orchestre symphonique de Chicago, A. Jacobs, professeur de cuivres, et J. Alessi, trombone solo de l'Orchestre philharmonique de New York. En Italie, il poursuit ses études avec A. Conti, premier trombone du Florentine May, aujourd'hui premier trombone de l'Accademia di Santa Cecilia. Il a suivi des cours de maître avec J. Alessi et avec le trombone basse du Berliner Philharmonic S. Schultz. Il a joué pendant une saison au Teatro la Fenice de Venise, trois saisons au Teatro Massimo de Palerme, et dans les autres orchestres pendant de courtes périodes. Pendant environ trois ans, il a joué dans l'Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana en tant que trombone basse, et pendant de courtes périodes à la Filarmonica della Scala et à l'Accademia di Santa Cecilia à Rome. En 1995, il a remporté le concours pour trombone ténor et trombone basse de l'Orchestre symphonique national de Rai, où il travaille encore aujourd'hui. Il travaille depuis plus de dix ans à la Fondation Fossano Musica, un institut de musique où il organise également des cours de maître avec des professeurs internationaux. Il a donné des masterclasses aux conservatoires deTerni, Turin, Naples, Novara et Vibo Valentia. Il est actif dans le domaine de la musique de chambre en tant que membre du quintette Spilimbrass, avec lequel il a également enregistré un CD Il est souvent invité à participer à des concours dans les théâtres italiens.

Gérard Metrailler

Professor of trompet

Beginning his musical journey at the Harmonie de Chalais and later becoming a member of the Brass Band 13 Étoiles, Gérard Métrailler continued his musical studies at the Conservatoire de musique de Genève under Mario Alberti, and later with Michel Cuvit, earning a Diploma with highest honors in 1985 followed by a First Prize in Virtuosity in 1988. Even before completing his studies, he was appointed as a substitute principal trumpet player with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in 1987. In Geneva, he won the 2nd prize at the International Music Performance Competition in 1987 and the 2nd prize at the Maurice André Competition in Paris in 1988. He also received the Bronze Medal at the International Festival of Young Soloists in Bordeaux in 1989. His repertoire includes major trumpet concertos by composers such as Haydn, Hummel, and Tomasi, but he also emphasizes works by Swiss composers like Hindemith, Zbinden, and Schmidt. He excels in pieces for trumpet and chamber orchestra or organ by Albinoni, Bach, Tartini, and Vivaldi. Currently, Gérard Métrailler is a trumpet player with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, principal trumpet of the contemporary music ensemble Contrechamps, and a member of the Quintet du Rhône. Gérard Métrailler conducts masterclasses in Switzerland, France, Italy, New Zealand, and Brazil. He has been a professor of trumpet at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 1994. Learn more about Gérard Métrailler.

Alexei Ogrintchouk

Professor of Oboe

Born in Moscow in 1978, Alexei Ogrintchouk studied at the Gnessin School of Music in Moscow under Professor I. Pushechnikov. In 1995, a French government scholarship enabled him to enter the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he studied with Maurice Bourgue, Jean-Louis Capezzali, and Jacques Tys. In 1999, he received two first prizes unanimously from the CNSM jury in oboe and chamber music. A laureate of the National Wind Instrument Competition of Russia (1st Prize in 1991), the International “Concertino-Prague” Competition (1992), and the UFAM International Competition in Paris (1st Prize in 1997), he won the First Prize and special prizes at the CIEM International Competition in Geneva in 1998. In 1999, he won the European “Juventus” Prize. Under the auspices of UNESCO, with the Les Nouveaux Noms Foundation, as a soloist of the Gnessin Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, and in a duo with Vladimir Spivakov, Alexei Ogrintchouk toured numerous countries. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed with musicians such as Radu Lupu, Gidon Kremer, Vladimir Spivakov, Christophe Coin, and the Kocian and Sine Nomine Quartets. He has played under the direction of conductors such as Fabio Luisi, Kent Nagano, Albert Kaiser, and with many orchestras. He has been a guest at several renowned festivals. In May 1999, Alexei Ogrintchouk was selected as the principal oboe of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under Valery Gergiev. Since 2000, he has been supported by the NATEXIS Foundation. During the 2000/2001 season, he was chosen as an artist for the Rising Star program, which led him to prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Cité de la Musique in Paris. In January 2002, he received two Victoires de la Musique Classique awards: “Revelation Foreign Artist of the Year” and the audience award. Starting in the 2011 academic year, Alexei Ogrintchouk succeeded Maurice Bourgue at the Haute école de musique de Genève. Learn more about Alexei Ogrintchouk

Sergey Ostrovsky

Professor of Violin

Sergey Ostrovsky was born in 1975 in Nizhny Novgorod into a family of musicians. His first violin teacher was David Lapidus. He then studied with Lazar Gantman and Yury Gluchovsky before emigrating to Israel with his family, where he continued his training with Yair Kless and Irina Svetlova. In 1996, he founded the Aviv Quartet, with which he first trained at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne with members of the Alban Berg Quartet, and at the Rotterdam Conservatory with members of the Daniel Quartet. He also participated in master classes with renowned musicians such as Isaac Stern, Herman Krebbers, Dorothy Delay, and Ivry Gitlis. With the Aviv Quartet, he won the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition (a grand prize and four special prizes), the Bordeaux String Quartet Competition, the Aviv National Competition in Tel Aviv, and the Rodolfo Lipizer Prize. Whether as a chamber musician or soloist, Sergey Ostrovsky has performed in major venues (Carnegie Hall in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, Wigmore Hall in London, the Louvre Auditorium and Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and the Sydney Opera House) and in many countries (Israel, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, China, Canada, and Brazil). His solo repertoire includes works by Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Lalo, Chausson, and Sibelius, among others. He has also played with numerous orchestras conducted by maestros such as Zubin Mehta, Yoel Levi, Philippe Entremont, Maxim Vengerov, and Uriel Segal. Sergey Ostrovsky has recorded for Naxos and EMI Classics, notably with Maxim Vengerov and the UBS Verbier Chamber Orchestra. He is the first violinist of the Aviv Quartet, performing major classical and romantic quartets, and the concertmaster of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. He plays a Giovanni Grancinno from 1716 and teaches violin at the Haute école de musique de Genève, Neuchâtel site. Learn more about Sergey Ostrovsky

Tedi Papavrami

Professor of Violin

Arriving at a very young age in France, Tedi Papavrami discovered a country and culture that were completely foreign to him. His natural curiosity and the need to master the French language in order to make this country his own, along with initial great solitude, drove him to devour books, always in French: Stendhal, Proust, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Kafka... This curiosity beyond borders, combined with intellectual and artistic demands, allowed him to bridge the gap between his original domain and other horizons, making him a rare interpreter in the musical world. Thus, in 2000, after the passing of Albanian translator J. Vrioni, he naturally took up the mantle of translating the works of Ismaïl Kadaré, whom he had known as a child in Albania. This foray into the literary world also became a way for him to "professionally exist for the first time outside of the violin." In 2013, he continued this journey with the writing of "Fugue pour Violon Seul" published by Robert Laffont. Unanimously praised by the press, this autobiographical account narrates his journey as a child prodigy in Albania and his passage to the West, towards freedom. However, this diversification would not have been possible without an early and singular focus on the violin from his young years. The instrument, which had always been a part of his life, was introduced to him at the age of 5 by his father, a brilliant professor with extensive pedagogical experience. Tedi's progress was rapid: three years later, he performed Sarasate's "Zigeunerweisen" with an orchestra. At eleven, he publicly performed Paganini's Concerto No. 1 with the formidable Sauret cadenza. In 1982 in Albania, a country cut off from the world, he was noticed by flutist Alain Marion who arranged for him to be invited to Paris as a French government scholarship student. He then studied with Pierre Amoyal at the C.N.S.M in Paris for four years. At the end of his studies, at the age of 15, Tedi pursued his musical and instrumental development independently. Shortly before, with his parents, he fled the communist regime in Albania to settle with them in France. Severe sanctions were imposed in retaliation on the rest of the family remaining in Albania, lasting until the fall of the communist regime in 1991. Tedi and his parents left Paris to avoid being within reach of Albanian embassy officials searching for them and settled near Bordeaux. Benefiting from several awards, T. Papavrami began a career as a soloist and chamber musician from the 1990s onwards. He has since collaborated as a soloist with conductors such as K. Sanderling, A. Jordan, E. Krivine, M. Honeck, F.X. Roth, Th. Fischer, G. Varga, M. Aeschenbacher… In chamber music, he was a member of the Schumann Quartet, a piano quartet, for 9 years, and he performs in concert or on recordings with partners such as Philippe Bianconi, Gary Hoffman, Marc Coppey, Nelson Goerner, Martha Argerich, Maria Joao Pires, Viktoria Mullova, Paul Meyer, and Lawrence Power. Now based in Geneva, Switzerland, Tedi holds a position as Professor of Violin at the HEM. He plays on a violin made in 2022 for him by luthier David Leonard Wiedmer. Learn more about Tedi Papavrami

David Pia

Professor of Cello

David Pia grew up in Basel and studied with Antonio Meneses at the University of Music in Basel and with Clemens Hagen at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. During his studies, he was the principal cellist of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and worked with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Herbert Blomstedt, and Philippe Jordan. In 2006, he became a member of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra but decided to accept the position of principal cellist of the Munich Radio Orchestra. A year later, he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, where he also received the prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work. In 2010, David Pia assisted his former teacher Antonio Meneses at the University of the Arts in Bern and gave master classes at the Kronberg Academy, the University of Music in Freiburg im Breisgau, and at various festivals worldwide. In 2012, a concert tour with violinist Sarah Chang and the Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra took him to the largest concert halls in Switzerland. He has performed as a soloist with, among others, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata de Lausanne, the Essen Philharmonic, and the Munich Symphony Orchestra. As a duo partner with Bobby McFerrin, he performed with the Munich Radio Orchestra, at "Young Artists in Concert" in Davos, at "Septembre Musical" in Montreux, at the "Ravinia Festival," and at "Chamber Music connects the World" in Kronberg. Other musical partners included Kit Armstrong, Daishin Kashimoto, Menahem Pressler, and Antoine Tamestit. In 2015, the Swiss Embassy in London awarded David Pia the "Swiss Ambassador's Award," after which he embarked on a concert tour in the UK and performed at the renowned Wigmore Hall in London. David Pia has been the principal cellist of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich since 2016 and since 2022 he holds the same position in the Bern Symphony Orchestra (BSO). He was appointed professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève in 2018. In addition to the famous Stradivarius "De Kermadec Bläss" cello from 1698, David Pia plays a cello by Giovanni Grancino from 1697. Tradition and vision converge in David Pia; he bridges the admiration for his grandfather, Karl Richter, the legendary Munich conductor and organist of Bach, and a future with endless possibilities. For him, it is vital to expand the familiar repertoire by adding interesting pieces and never losing sight of the adventure posed by the unknown. Learn more about David Pia

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

Alexander Rozhdestvenskiy

Professor of Violin

Sasha Rozhdestvensky is considered one of the finest Russian violinists of today; Yehudi Menuhin described him as "one of the most talented and refined violinists of his generation." He studied at the Central School of Music in Moscow, the Moscow Conservatory, the Paris Conservatory, and the Royal College of Music in London. Sasha Rozhdestvensky has performed internationally with renowned orchestras such as the Bayerische Staatsorchester, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of La Scala, Mariinsky Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, and worked with conductors like Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Valery Gergiev, Theodor Guschlbauer, Vernon Handley, Louis Langree, Jacques Mercier, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Gerard Schwartz, Yuri Simonov, Christopher Warren-Green, and Vladimir Jurowski. He has recorded for several labels: Chandos, where he recorded Alfred Schnittke's Concerto Grosso No.6 written especially for him and Viktoria Postnikova. For Nimbus, he recorded Shostakovich's Concerto No.1 and Glazunov's Concerto with his father. He recorded the complete works for violin and piano by Ravel for Praga Digitals, and for Delos, he recorded the complete works for violin and piano by Tchaikovsky with pianist Josiane Marfurt, Shostakovich's sonatas with Jeremy Menuhin, the world premieres of Myaskovsky, Shebalin, and Nechaev's sonatas with Viktoria Postnikova, and most recently the world premiere of John Mayer's concerto with the BBC Orchestra for FHR. Sasha Rozhdestvensky has been a guest at major festivals such as the BBC Proms (London), Tanglewood, Schleswig-Holstein, Gstaad, Colmar, Ravinia, Florida, Lockenhaus, Montreux, and Rheingau, and has performed in prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Barbican and Festival Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Berlin Philharmonie, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Salle Pleyel and Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Mann Auditorium in Tel-Aviv, and La Scala in Milan, always with great success. Among his chamber music partners are Marc Coppey, Gary Hoffman, Steven Isserlis, Christian Ivaldi, Josiane Marfurt, Jeremy Menuhin, Kun Woo Paik, Michel Portal, Viktoria Postnikova, and Michael Rudy. Sasha Rozhdestvensky's commitment to contemporary music is highlighted by his close relationships with composers such as Alfred Schnittke, Arvo Pärt, Sofia Gubaidulina, Giya Kancheli, and Ian Venables. Additionally, he is also dedicated to traditional Latin American music with the ensemble "Ambar" (albums "El Diablo Suelto" for Delos and "O voo da mosca" for FHR). Learn more about Alexander Rozhdestvenskiy

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.

Denis Severin

Professor of Cello

Denis Severin studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow with D. Miller, at the Haute école de musique de Genève with Daniel Grosgurin, and at the Academy of Music in Basel with Thomas Demenga. He earned teaching and soloist diplomas with distinction. He furthered his studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in baroque cello, chamber music, and string quartet under Christophe Coin. He also attended masterclasses with J. Starker, N. Gutman, T. Mørk, A. Bylsma, A. Meneses, G. Hoffman, W. Böttcher, and B. Mate. An award winner at international competitions, D. Severin has regularly performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the National Orchestra of Ukraine, the European Youth Orchestra, Les Solistes de Kiev, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Pskov (Russia), and the Kharkiv Philharmonic (Ukraine). As a chamber musician, he plays with numerous ensembles and is frequently invited to festivals in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Serbia, Singapore, Poland, Turkey, and England. His extensive discography includes a Rachmaninov program for cello and piano with Sony and the Brandenburg Concertos with the Swiss Baroque Soloists for Naxos, which was nominated for a Grammy Award. Since 2006, he has taught cello and chamber music at the International Summer Music Academy at the Château de Beuggen in Germany. He is a regular guest professor for cello and early music at the National Music Academy of Kyiv and the University of the Arts in Kharkiv (Ukraine). He is a cello professor at the Haute école des arts in Bern and leads a cello class at the Haute école de musique de Genève, Neuchâtel site. Denis Severin plays a Jean-Nicolas Lambert cello from 1750 and a Vincenzo Panormo cello from 1800. Learn more about Denis Severin

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

Nurit Stark

Professor of Violin

Born in Israel, violinist and violist Nurit Stark received her musical education in Tel Aviv, Berlin and Cologne with Ilan Gronich, Haim Taub and the Alban Berg Quartet. Following her first appearance as a soloist at the age of 16 in Paganini's First Violin Concerto with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, she continued to perfect her skills, performing all over the world. As a chamber musician, she collaborates with pianist Cédric Pescia and soprano Caroline Melzer, with whom she performs at the Lockenhaus Kammermusikfest, Schleswig Holstein, Rheingau, Wien Modern and Donaueschinger Musiktage festivals. Her passion for contemporary music has led her to give world premieres and collaborate with composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, György Kurtág, Viktor Suslin, Peter Eötvös, Carola Bauckholt, Jennifer Walsh, Younghi Pagh-Paan, Isabel Mundry and Georg Nussbaumer. She is also involved in avant-garde stage projects combining music and theater, and with visual artists Isabel Robson & Susanne Vincenz created Roundhouse Reverb, a video installation based on the music of György Kurtág. Nurit Stark is a prizewinner in the George Enescu, Leopold Mozart and Ibolyka Gyarf international competitions. Her first solo recording will be released in spring 2022 and includes solo works for violin/viola by Béla Bártok, György Ligeti, Sándor Veress and the world premiere ofAdventures of the dominant seventh chord dedicated to Nurit Stark by Peter Eötvös. In 2019, she is appointed Professor of Violin at Stuttgart State University for Music and Performing Arts. Nurit Stark plays a P. Guarneri di Mantova violin, 1710. Learn more about Nurit Stark  

Máté Szucs

Professor of Viola

Máté Szücs, a Hungarian-born violist, has had an award-winning career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral instrumentalist. Máté served as principal violist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 2011 to 2018, where he also performed as a soloist in Bartók's Viola Concerto in September 2017. At the age of seventeen, Máté switched from violin to viola and graduated with highest honors from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and the Royal Conservatory of Flanders in Antwerp. He further pursued studies at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo, Belgium, graduating with highest distinction. As a chamber musician, Máté has been a member of various ensembles including the Mendelssohn Ensemble, Con Spirito Piano Quartet, Trio Dor, Enigma Ensemble, and Ensemble "Fragments". He has collaborated with renowned musicians such as Janine Jansen, Frank-Peter Zimmermann, Christian Tetzlaff, Vadim Repin, Ilja Gringolts, Vladimir Mendelssohn, László Fenyő, Kristof Baráti, István Várdai, Camille Thomas, Kirill Troussov, and Julien Quentin. In addition to solo performances with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, he has appeared with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, Bamberger Symphoniker, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, where he also served as principal violist. Since 2006, Máté has been a regular faculty member at the Thy Chamber Music Festival in Denmark and taught at the Britten-Pears Festival in Aldeburgh, England from 2012 to 2014. He taught for two years at the University of Music in Saarbrücken, from 2014 to 2018 at the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, from 2015 to 2018 at the Hanns Eisler University of Music in Berlin, and in 2015-2016 at the Academy of Music in Budapest. Máté conducts masterclasses worldwide, including in New York, Los Angeles, Michigan, London, Berlin, Brussels, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, and Tokyo. Since 2018, he has been a professor of viola at the Haute école de musique de Genève. Learn more about Máté Szücs

Mirela Vedeva Ruaux

Professor of Double Bass

Mirella Vedeva received a virtuosity prize from the Conservatoire de Genève and graduated from the Giovanni Bottesini International Double Bass Competition. Michel Plasson, who noticed her during this competition, hired her as a soloist for the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse. She has also collaborated with other symphonic ensembles such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande de Genève, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, and the Lausanne Sinfonietta. Her passion for imparting her instrumental knowledge drives her towards teaching. At the Conservatoire de Genève and the Accademia, she created classes for very young double bassists starting from the age of six. In charge of directing the Music School Orchestra of the Conservatoire de Genève, she has carried out numerous educational projects. At the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM), she receives students from around the world, perpetuating the tradition of excellence from the school of her mentor Franco Petracchi. She is also a professor at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Saragosse. Invited for numerous masterclasses in Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, and China, her pedagogical talents are universally recognized. Lastly, her activities as a soloist and chamber musician have garnered her much success both in Switzerland and abroad. Learn more about Mirella Vedeva Ruaux.

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.

Sarah Verrue

Professeure de harpe

La harpiste belge Sarah Verrue s'est très tôt fait remarquer en tant que lauréate du Dutch International Harp Competition, du Concours Rotary, de l'UFAM et du Concours Martine Geliot. A 24 ans, elle devient harpiste solo de l'Orchestre de la Tonhalle de Zurich sous la direction de Paavo Järvi. Depuis 2019, elle est harpiste invitée au Lucern Festival Orchestra. Sarah est titulaire d'un Master en musique et musique de chambre du Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris sous la direction d'Isabelle Moretti. Elle a été membre de l´Académie de l'Opéra national de Munich en 2012 et, un an plus tard, elle suivait les cours de Marie-Pierre Langlamet et jouait à l'Académie Karajan du Berliner Philharmoniker. Sarah s'est produite en tant que chambriste dans des festivals renommés tels que le Festival d'Aix-en Provence, le Festival de Musique Schweslig-Holstein, le Festival de Salzbourg, le MDR Musiksommer, le Festival van Vlaanderen et le Festival de Menton. En tant que soliste, Sarah s'est produite avec l'Orchestre de Chambre de Munich, la Nieuwe Philharmonie d'Utrecht, l'Orchestre de Chambre des Grisons ou l'Orchestre Symphonique de Cannes.   Sarah a souvent travaillé dans le théâtre musical de la Philharmonie du Luxembourg, dans des productions telles que Cendrillon et Wolkenwanderer. A Zürich, elle s´engage dans des écoles spécialisées pour enfants en situation d´un handicap. L'été, elle est coach au Verbier Festival Orchestra où elle enseigne et soutient de jeunes musiciens.

Milena Viotti

Professeure de cor

Milena Viotti est née à Lausanne en 1988 et commence le cor à l'âge de huit ans à l’école de musique de Forbach. En 2007, elle part étudier à la Musik Akademie de Bâle avant d’obtenir son Master avec Erik Penzel et Christian Lampert à Stuttgart.  En 2010, elle intègre le prestigieux orchestre de l’opéra de Munich, le Bayerisches Staatsorchester en tant que cor aigu et joue en parallèle dans des orchestres de renom tels que le Berlin Philharmoniker, le Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ou l'Orchestre de Paris... Milena Viotti a remporté de nombreux prix dans de grands concours internationaux, comme le Concours du Festival du Printemps de Prague ou du Luxemburg. Passionnée par la musique de chambre, elle donne chaque année un grand nombre de concerts avec divers ensembles dans les formations les plus diverses. Avide de partager son expérience et son savoir-faire, elle participe chaque année à de nombreux stages et masterclasses en Europe. En tant qu’enseignante, sa curiosité pour de nouvelles approches pédagogiques et pour des solutions novatrices fait d'elle une pédagogue prête à inspirer et à guider ses élèves vers l'excellence musicale.

Jacques Zoon

Professor of flute

Jacques Zoon studied at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam with Koos Verheul and Harrie Starreveld, and later at the Banff Center for the Arts in Canada with Geoffrey Gilbert and András Adorján. He won the 2nd prize at the Willem Pijper Competition in 1981 and received the Special Jury Prize at the Jean-Pierre Rampal Competition in 1987. Initially a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands (Nationaal Jeugd Orkest) and the European Union Youth Orchestra, Jacques Zoon was subsequently appointed principal flute of the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, and finally the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, a position he held from 1988 to 1994. From 1989 to 1997, he was principal flute with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In 1997, he was named principal flute of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was named "Musician of the Year" in 1998 by the Boston Globe. He is currently principal flute with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and the Orchestra Mozart, both conducted by Claudio Abbado. Today, he performs as a soloist and chamber musician, collaborating with numerous renowned orchestras worldwide. He has made many recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, Decca, Chandos, Boston Records, Vanguard Classics, Schwann-Koch, and Pony Canyon, among others. In 1991, he received the Edison Award with pianist Bernd Backman for their recording dedicated to contemporary Dutch music for flute and piano. He taught at the Rotterdam Conservatory from 1988 to 1994, at Indiana University from 1994 to 1997, and at Boston University and the New England Conservatory from 1997 to 2001. He also teaches chamber music at the Reina Sofia School of Music in Madrid. He has been a professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 2002. Learn more about Jacques Zoon.

Julien Zufferey

Professor of Violin

Heir to three of the most prestigious international violin schools (Hungarian, Russian, and Jewish-American), violinist Julien Zufferey offers a productive synthesis of these diverse approaches, both in technique and musical interpretation. During this course, students will undertake in-depth work to find the keys that will enable them to make as conscious a musical choice as possible, and benefit from discovering their own interpretative path. Regularly invited to serve on juries for national and international competitions (Il Piccolo Violino Magico, Concorso Internazionale Città di Villafranca), and a respected expert for pre-professional classes in French-speaking Switzerland, Julien Zufferey demonstrates his fruitful pedagogical skills within the Lausanne musical institutions (Conservatory and HEMu). He guides young, talented violinists through intensive programs and pre-professional classes to admission into a Haute École. His students are annually winners of national and international competitions; notably, he received an honorary diploma for having the highest number of awarded students across all categories during the 2017 edition of the Concorso Internazionale A. Salieri. His role as an assistant to Svetlana Makarova at HEMu in Lausanne further broadens his pedagogical contribution by supporting the professional development of young graduates and strengthening his didactic ties with this exceptional professor. This course is intended for particularly gifted young violinists who aspire to join HEMu and pursue a professional musical career or to refine a competition program. In addition to numerous appearances on the Swiss stage, he performs throughout Europe as well as in the USA, Israel, and Turkey. Julien Zufferey is a founding member of the Trio Nota Bene, with which he has been performing on the international stage for almost twenty years, collaborating with artists such as Shmuel Ashkenasi, Ilya Gringolts, Pierre Amoyal, Shlomo Mintz, Nobuko Imai, Gérard Caussé, Christoph Schiller, Jürg Dähler, Silvia Simionescu, Brigitte Fournier, and Malin Hartelius. He plays a violin by Vincenzo Trusiano Panormo (1734-1813), generously provided by a Swiss patron. Learn more about Julien Zufferey.

Sarah Branchi-Cascone

Professor of piano Jaques-Dalcroze

Born in Aix-en-Provence, Sarah Branchi Cascone began her musical studies there, later completing them at the CRR of Montpellier. After obtaining Diplomas in Musical Studies in piano and chamber music, she joined the Cefedem-Sud (now IESM) at a very young age, where she earned a piano teaching diploma. Her musical journey then led her to the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) to continue her studies in the class of Dominique Weber. There, she obtained a teaching diploma and later a concert diploma. Passionate about pedagogy and teaching from a young age, Sarah Branchi Cascone has been teaching piano since 2003 at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze and within the Master’s in Pedagogy program, Jaques-Dalcroze orientation, at HEM. She has performed as a soloist and in various chamber music formations in Switzerland, France, and Argentina. In 2008, she founded the Tashko-Branchi duo with pianist Olta Tashko. The two pianists regularly perform recitals in France and Switzerland. In 2017, they participated in the complete concertos of J.S. Bach for 2, 3, and 4 pianos with the Terpsycordes Quartet. In 2019, they premiered the show "Vagabond et Visionnaire" by S. Arnauld, based on poems by F. Nietzsche.

Pablo Ernesto Cernik

Professor of Keyboard Harmony and Jaques-Dalcroze Writing - Instrumental Improvisation - Physical and Mental Preparation: Bodily Approach to Music through Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics - Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics - Jaques-Dalcroze Solfège

Pablo Cernik is currently employed as an adjunct professor, teaching in the Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, and CAS programs in the Music and Movement Department at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM). He collaborates with the department's administration on tasks related to the visibility of the programs and also with the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in coordinating the Diplôme Supérieur. He is the director of the Dalcroze Certificate programs in Italy, Spain, Chile, and Argentina. He has significantly contributed to the dissemination of the method by conducting workshops and conferences in various regions and countries across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. As an opera, chamber music, and dance pianist, his presentations have placed particular emphasis on multidisciplinary creation. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Arts at the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA) in Buenos Aires. He is a member of the Jaques-Dalcroze College and the central committee of the International Federation of Eurhythmics Teachers (FIER). He is also the president of the Dalcroze Association of Argentina.

Tamaé Gennai Deveaud

Professor of Instrumental Improvisation - Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics - Jaques-Dalcroze Solfège

Tamaé Gennai was born in Geneva, where she began her musical training at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze from a young age. In 2007, she graduated with a Master of Arts (Jaques-Dalcroze Pedagogy, receiving the Conseil d’Etat Prize and the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze Prize). She continued her studies in solfège and counterpoint at the Haute école de musique de Genève, obtaining her advanced solfège certificate in 2008. She furthered her piano and pedagogical training with Robert Kaddouch in Paris. Tamaé teaches music and movement to diverse audiences (parents-children, adolescents, seniors, the psychiatric department of HUG, etc.), and in 2019, she received the Diplôme Supérieur in the Jaques-Dalcroze method, allowing her to teach the method to professionals. On this occasion, she was awarded the Aletheia Foundation Prize for her group choreography. She teaches eurhythmics, solfège, pedagogy, improvisation, and performance creation at the Haute Ecole des Arts de Berne. Since 2021, she has also been teaching regularly in Bucharest. In addition to her career as a pedagogue and teacher, Tamaé performs as a musician and singer on stages in Switzerland, France, and Sweden with singer and guitarist Jackson Wahengo (traditional music of Namibia) and writes and directs numerous multidisciplinary shows (music, dance, theater) with the Compagnie TaMiErO. In 2019, she was awarded a writing grant from the Swiss Society of Authors for her children's show "L’enfant do," which was premiered at the Petit Théâtre de Lausanne. Dedicated to linking her stage and pedagogical skills to serve audiences with limited access to the arts, she has created several performance projects in the slums of Kolkata and Mumbai, in Geneva's Villas Yoyo, and within the creativity workshops of the IJD. Learn more about Tamaé Gennai Deveaud.

Stephane Ginsburgh

Professor of Jaques-Dalcroze Piano

Stéphane Ginsburgh has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at numerous international festivals such as Ars Musica, Quincena Musical, ZKM Imatronic, Agora Ircam, Bach Academie Brugge, Ultima Oslo, Darmstadt Ferienkurse, Gaida (Vilnius), Warsaw Autumn, Musica Strasbourg, Klara Festival, and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. A tireless explorer of the repertoire and an adventurer in new combinations involving voice, percussion, performance, or electronics, he dedicated himself early on to contemporary music while developing a vast classical repertoire. He regularly performs with the Ictus ensemble and has collaborated with composers such as Frederic Rzewski, Jean-Luc Fafchamps, Stefan Prins, Alec Hall, and Matthew Shlomowitz, premiering their works. He has also worked with choreographers such as Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Enthusiastic about immersive performances, Stéphane Ginsburgh has performed the complete Prokofiev sonatas or the last six Beethoven sonatas in a single evening. After earning a Master's degree in music, he studied with Paul Badura-Skoda, Claude Helffer, Jerome Lowenthal, and Vitaly Margulis. He was the artistic director of the Centre Henri Pousseur, a studio for mixed and electronic music based in Liège. He holds a Bachelor's degree in the philosophy of science from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and a PhD in Arts from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel. Stéphane Ginsburgh has recorded about fifteen albums for Sub Rosa, World Edition, Grand Piano (Naxos), and Kairos. His complete recording of Prokofiev's Piano Sonatas, described as a “captivating” and “essential” version (La Libre Belgique), was released by Cypres Records. Learn more about Stéphane Ginsburgh.

Florence Jaccottet

Head of the Music and Movement Department - Professor of Creative Experimentation Workshop - Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics - Movement Technique and Composition - Coordinator of Physical and Mental Preparation

Born in 1989 in Lausanne, Florence Jaccottet began studying Jaques-Dalcroze eurhythmics at a young age at the Conservatory of her hometown. Simultaneously, she studied piano in the class of Helena Maffli, completing her course in 2008 with a Prize of Excellence. Driven by her passion for both musical and physical expression, she pursued the Music and Movement program at the Haute école de musique de Genève, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 2011, awarded the Marguerite Croptier Lange Pedagogy Prize. Two years later, she completed her studies with a Master of Arts in Jaques-Dalcroze Pedagogy, which was recognized with the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute Prize. Florence Jaccottet is currently a scholarship recipient working towards a Diplôme Supérieur, during which she received the Prize for Excellence in Teaching Solfège. Her creation "Entrée en matières," presented in 2017 in a duo with percussionist Michael Chapon, was awarded the Alethéia Foundation Prize. In 2015, Florence Jaccottet was awarded the title of Professor of Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics by the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute. She has been teaching this method to both adults and children in various settings since 2011 and continually deepens her expertise by participating in numerous masterclasses abroad. Since 2015, she has been teaching movement technique, composition, and creation at the Haute école de musique de Genève, and in 2018, she was appointed lecturer in eurhythmics at the institution. Balancing teaching with artistic expression, Florence Jaccottet's activities also revolve around her passion for dance, which she has explored in various forms for many years. Since 2013, she has focused particularly on contemporary dance and improvisation with Professor Emilio Artessero Quesada. Her artistic research centers on expressing rhythm and musicality through movement, creating a unique contemporary dance language. This distinctive approach has led to invitations to present her performances and the techniques she develops for future eurhythmics practitioners in Switzerland and, more recently, internationally, including in Japan and South Korea.

Hélène Nicolet

Professor of Instrumental Improvisation - jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics

Hélène Nicolet was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and began her musical journey through Dalcroze Eurhythmics at the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute from a young age. With a jazz musician father and an educator mother, her artistic path has been deeply influenced by improvisation and a corporeal approach. She obtained her teaching license in the Dalcroze method in 2006 (awarded for the best level of license, best adult lesson, and best rhythmic exam). Her commitment to teaching was further solidified when she earned a Master of Music Diploma from the Haute école de musique de Genève. During her stay in New York in 2011, she enhanced her interest in movement by becoming a Certified Movement Analyst at the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies. In 2013, she completed her Advanced Diploma at the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute, the highest title allowing her to fully teach and represent the method (Eurhythmics, Solfege, Improvisation). Alongside her professional training, Hélène Nicolet studied classical piano and received the amateur certificate from the Federation of Music Schools with honors from the jury. She continued her piano study through jazz and classical improvisation. She started playing the cello in her teens and participated in various musical formations (accompanist for opera singers or instrumentalists, baroque trio, jazz-folk duo, and jazz quartet). Currently, she teaches students in the Music and Movement department (Bachelor, Master, and CAS in Dalcroze Eurhythmics). She is frequently invited abroad to teach and present the Jaques-Dalcroze method at various universities and partner centers. Additionally, she works at the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute, where she has been the director since August 2023. Research Projects Proceedings of the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute Congress: https://www.hesge.ch/hem/recherche-developpement/projets-recherche/termine/actes-du-congres-linstitut-jaques-dalcroze Publications Silvia Del Bianco, Sylvie Morgenegg, Hélène Nicolet, Pédagogie, art et science: l’apprentissage par et pour la musique selon la méthode Jaques-Dalcroze, actes du Congrès de l’ijd 2015, Editions Droz et HEM, 2017.https://www.hesge.ch/hem/publications/pedagogie-art-et-science Mary Brice, Ruth Gianadda, Hélène Nicolet, « Racines d’une pratique encore en mouvement », 2019.https://www.dalcroze.ch/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Racines-dune-pratique-encore-en-mouvement.pdf Mary Brice, Ruth Gianadda, Hélène Nicolet, « Roots of a practice still in movement », 2019.https://www.dalcroze.ch/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Roots-of-a-practice-still-in-movement.pdf

Stéphane Orlando

Professeur d'Ateliers d'improvisation (coordinateur) - Harmonie au clavier et écriture Jaques-Dalcroze - Improvisation instrumentale

Lauréat du prix SABAM for culture pour la musique contemporaine en 2020, le pianiste et compositeur Stéphane Orlando collabore régulièrement avec plusieurs musicien-ne-s, ensembles et orchestres. Depuis 2022, il est devenu compositeur en résidence à l'Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège. Stéphane Orlando puise son inspiration dans la musique classique, traditionnelle et le jazz, mais aussi dans sa propre pratique de l'improvisation au piano. Il aime aussi bien composer pour un seul instrument ou en musique de chambre, avec ou sans électronique, que pour orchestre, mais il aime surtout inscrire sa musique dans un contexte narratif riche, avec une forte sensibilité pour les images, les mots et les mouvements. Stéphane Orlando enseigne l’improvisation instrumentale à la Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM). En savoir plus sur Stéphane Orlando

Pascale Rochat-Martinet

Professor of Experimental Workshop: Applied Pedagogy - Keyboard Harmony and Dalcroze Writing - Instrumental Improvisation - Improvisation for Movement and Teaching

Holder of the advanced diploma from the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, Pascale Rochat-Martinet furthered her education with choral conducting studies in Paris, classical singing at the Conservatory of Lausanne, and training for seniors at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze. She is also involved in the creative group "Aldente," which combines music, theater, and movement. Passionate about pedagogy, she has created numerous rhythmics-solfege courses at the Conservatory of Lausanne, leading her students to certification. Currently, she teaches piano improvisation, rhythmics, and solfege at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) as well as at the Haute école de musique de Lausanne (HEMU). Her teaching is directed towards rhythmicians, future piano teachers, and concert performers. She is regularly invited to teach at international higher education institutions and universities. Always seeking to refresh and renew her teaching methods, she has undertaken jazz piano studies. Improvisation being her specialty, she also practices this discipline in various fields: organ improvisation, accompanying Gospel singers, and creating music for podcasts. Her artistic journey is rich, varied, and eclectic. Pascale Rochat-Martinet loves to share her joy of music with everyone, without distinction.

Laurent Sourisse

Professeur d'improvisation instrumentale - improvisation instrumentale Jaques-Dalcroze - Harmonie au clavier et écriture - Accompagnement de chansons

Né en 1970 dans une famille de musiciens, Laurent Sourisse étudie au CNSM de Paris avec Thierry Escaich (Fugue et Formes), Marc-André Dalbavie (Orchestration), Alain Louvier (Analyse), Jean-Claude Reynaud (Harmonie) et Bernard de Crépy (Contrepoint), il se perfectionne en improvisation au piano auprès de Thierry Escaich, Alain Savouret, et Isabelle Duha. Il enseigne l’écriture, l’harmonie pratique, et l’improvisation sur Paris, puis sur Genève depuis 2001. Il est fréquemment sollicité pour des masterclasses et congrès à l’étranger (Taïwan, Japon, Canada, Belgique, France, Espagne), et pour des formations continues et postgrades. Au sein du trio Meigmata (avec Marie Mercier, clarinette, et Michael Chapon, batterie), il explore l’improvisation aux multiples influences et la composition collective. Il expérimente également l’association avec d’autres pratiques artistiques : danse (Florence Jaccottet, Luisa Schöfer), marionnettes (Fanfare du Loup, Théâtre de Marionnettes de Genève), matchs d’improvisation (impro.ch et HEM).

Daniel Zea Gomez

Atelier d'expérimentation créative / Électroacoustique Jaques-Dalcroze

Designer, artiste sonore et compositeur, Daniel Zea vit et travaille à Genève. Son univers artistique gravite autour de la musique instrumentale et électroacoustique, la performance hybride mêlant vidéo, son, systèmes de captation gestuelle et physical computing, ainsi que de la programmation. Il collabore régulièrement dans des projets interdisciplinaires (arts visuels, chorégraphie, performance), et il donne des cours à la Haute École d’Art et Design de Genève. Il participe à la direction artistique de l’ensemble Vortex, y travaillant à la fois en tant que compositeur et interprète de musique électroacoustique. Très actif dans le domaine pédagogique, il a été artiste référant des résidences artistiques multidisciplinaires à la Fondation Royaumont, et récemment au GRAME, centre de création musicale à Lyon. Sa pièce The Fuck Facebook Face Orchestra a été lauréate du Giga Hertz Preis 2016 du ZKM (Karlsruhe, Allemagne), et en 2017, Pocket Enemy a fait parti de la sélection de l’International Rostrum of Composers. En 2023 ira reçu le Prix pour les Arts Sonores de la Fondation Liechti. Dans son travail, il porte une réflexion interrogative et critique sur la relation de notre société au numérique, parfois avec un certain engagement politique non dépourvu d’humour. Cependant, ses intérêts musicaux ne s’arrêtent pas sur la création expérimentale contemporaine.  Il est aussi passionné du folklore. Côté colombien, il explore le répertoire de la région caraïbe (cumbia, fandango, porro) avec Palenque la Papayera. Amoureux de la musique traditionnelle du Sud-est mexicain, il est membre des groupes Cocoxoca et Gema y sus Valedores.   Daniel Zea était l’invité du Festival Les Amplitudes de La Chaux-de-Fonds en 2024. En savoir plus sur Daniel Zea

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).

Marius Brenciu

Professeur de chant

Marius Brenciu obtient son diplôme de maîtrise (1997) et un Master en Art Vocal (1998) à l’Université de Musique de Bucarest. Dans le cadre de la même institution il enseigne le chant entre 1997 - 2000. Il participe à de nombreux concours et gagne de nombreux prix dont le 1er Prix George Enescu en 1999, Concours Reine Elisabeth (2ème Prix et Prix pour la meilleure interprétation d'opéra) en 2000, 1er Prix et 4 prix spéciaux au Concours YCA à New-York et le Concours Cardiff Singer of The World (le Prix du lied et celui de Singer of the World) en 2001. Il a travaillé sous la direction de chefs prestigieux tels que Claudio Abbado, Seiji Ozawa, Lorin Maazel ou Zubin Mehta, pour ne citer qu’eux, et s'est produit avec de grands ensembles internationaux. Il a travaillé avec des metteurs-en-scène comme Franco Zeffirelli, Peter Stein, Nicolas Joel, Giancarlo del Monaco, Karl et Ursel Hermann entre autres. Marius Brenciu est membre de la Commission artistique du Concours Musical Reine Elisabeth - section chant (depuis 2004) et membre du Jury (édition 2011, 2014 et 2018). Il est invité régulièrement pour des masterclasses en Belgique, en France et aux États-Unis.

Heidi Brunner

Professor of Singing - Audition and Competition Preparation

Native of Lucerne (CH), Heidi Brunner studied singing, organ, and conducting in Lucerne, Basel, and Zurich. At the age of 17, she was already an organist and choir director before beginning her singing career at the age of 28. Her first engagements as an opera singer led her to Biel, where she debuted in the title role in Rossini's "La Cenerentola." She then took engagements in Basel, Innsbruck, and Dessau. She performed at the Komische Oper in Berlin (La Cenerentola and Charlotte in Werther, among others) before being engaged as a resident artist at the Staatsoper and the Volksoper and Theater an der Wien in Vienna from 1996 to 2008 (where she performed roles such as La Cenerentola, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Idamante in Idomeneo, Die Sekretärin in Der Konsul by G.C. Menotti, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Zerlina and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Nicklausse in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Sesto, Anio and Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, Adalgisa in Norma, and the title role in La Périchole). In 1998, she made her debut in Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo" at the Opernfestspiele in Munich and the Wiener Festwochen. She reprised the role of Idamante at the Klangbogen Festival at the Theater an der Wien and performed at venues such as the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and the Salzburg Festival. She has appeared in recitals and concerts at venues such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Berlin, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Santiago de Compostela, Milan, Pesaro, Lyon, Paris, Lucerne, Zurich, Basel, Bern, Lisbon, Frankfurt, Bergen, Helsingborg, Turin, and Munich. Her repertoire expanded with roles in Schreker's "Irrelohe" and Schmidt's "Notre Dame" at the Volksoper in Vienna, Hindemith's "Mathis der Maler" at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Schoenberg's "Erwartung" at the Komische Oper Berlin and at the Musikverein in Vienna. She made her debut in the roles of Brangäne in "Tristan und Isolde" at the Amsterdam Opera and the Liceu in Barcelona, Marie (Wozzeck) at the Staatsoper Hamburg, Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito) and Marta (Tiefland) in Vienna, Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) and Madame Lidoine (Dialogues des Carmélites) at the Theater an der Wien, Kundry (Parsifal) at the Teatro Regio Turin, Giulietta (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) and the Mother in "Kullervo" by Aulis Sallinen at the Frankfurt Opera, and Sieglinde (Die Walküre) at the Staatsoper Hamburg. In 2015, she made her debut as Mère Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites). That same year, she sang the mezzo-soprano part in Verdi's Requiem in Vienna and performed "The Seven Deadly Sins" by Kurt Weill in the Forbidden City in Beijing. She has worked with renowned conductors such as Marco Armiliato, Ivor Bolton, Thüring Bräm, Bertrand de Billy, Alfred Eschwé, Lawrence Foster, Gabriele Ferro, Leopold Hager, Friedrich Haider, Thomas Hengelbrock, René Jacobs, Philippe Jordan, Alois Koch, Ingo Metzmacher, Franz Welser-Möst, Hervé Niquet, Arnold Oestmann, Kirill Petrenko, Markus Poschner, Helmuth Rilling, Peter Schneider, Marcello Viotti, Sebastian Weigle, Simone Young, and Alberto Zedda. Heidi Brunner has recorded numerous CDs, including "Jubilate Deo," "Te Deum" by De Lalande (ERATO), "Così fan tutte," "Don Giovanni," and "Le Nozze di Figaro" (SONY/BMG), excerpts from "Tristan und Isolde," and a solo album with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Since 2020, Heidi Brunner has been a Professor of Singing at the Haute école de musique de Genève, where she regularly gives masterclasses. Learn more about Heidi Brunner      

Marcin Habela

Professor of Voice

Dr. Marcin Habela, a baritone, vocal professor, and researcher, is particularly renowned for his versatility in repertoire, innovative pedagogy aligned with the latest voice science advancements, and his extensive international professional networks. Trained at the Conservatoire de Paris, he won several international prizes that paved the way for a prestigious career. He has performed over 80 roles spanning a vast repertoire (including Ford, Figaro, Sharpless, Oneguine...) on major stages such as Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Warsaw, Athens, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Bremen, Frankfurt, Lausanne, Almaty, and Krakow. He has sung alongside notable artists like R. Alagna, J. van Dam, T. Hampson, K. Mattila, L. Oropesa, P. Petibon, K. Deshayes in productions conducted by S. Rattle, Ch. von Dohnanyi, J. Tate, E. Krivine, A. Pappano, and directed by A. Arias, S. Braunschweig, M. Hampe, A. Serban, Ph. Himmelman, and S. Poda. Passionate about contemporary music, he has premiered numerous works by 20th and 21st-century composers in prestigious settings such as Warsaw Autumn, Sacrum Profanum, and the Malta Festival with ensembles like 2E2M and Contrechamps. His concert repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to Britten, with recordings for Radio France, TSR, SBB, EMI, RAI, Espace 2, Virgin, RTS, and SevenStarsSystems. Critically acclaimed for his creation of Raoul Wallenberg in Kingsley and Kunze's opera "Raoul," he received the Grand Prix du Public for best performer at the Mezzo TV International Opera Competition in November 2008. In addition to his operatic career, since 2014, he has gained solid experience in musical and experimental theater, and performs concerts with jazz, musical comedy, and symphonic cabaret repertoires. A vocal professor at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) since 2005, he was head of the vocal department from 2011 to 2022. He initiated the European Opera Academy (EOA) and established numerous institutional collaborations at the cantonal, national, and international levels. Active in professional circles, he serves on the juries of international singing competitions (Ada Sari, Szymanowski Competition, Mahler Competition, ARMEL, Geneva Competition...) and is a member of various artistic commissions (Tibor Varga Academy, Geneva International Competition, European Opera Academy, MAAKSS). A renowned vocal professor, he is regularly invited to give masterclasses across Europe (Tibor Varga Academy in Sion, Lugano, Stockholm, Warsaw, Porto, Gdansk, Frankfurt, Oslo, Antwerp, Bucharest, Krakow, Paris, Hamburg, Athens...) and internationally (Japan, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Australia, Russia, China...). With a PhD in arts, specializing in contemporary vocalities, he leads numerous research projects, including in vocal pedagogy (improvisation, national singing schools). He fosters prestigious international collaborations with institutions such as the University of the Arts Oslo, Kapodistrias University of Athens, CNSMDP, Kazakh National Conservatory in Almaty, Astana University of the Arts, UFCM Warsaw, the neuroscience faculty of UNIGE, the medical faculty of Lyon 2 University, and Maastricht Conservatory. Particularly attentive to his students' professional integration, he maintains a vast international network (opera studios, casting directors, artistic agencies...), with former students like Julien Behr, Marion Grange, Mélody Louledjian, and Diana Lamar performing on prestigious stages such as the MET in New York, Opéra de Paris, and Deutsche Oper in Berlin. He has also trained a generation of pedagogues (Anna Maske, Gabriella Cavasino, Fabrice Farina, Davide Autieri, Magali Pérol-Dumora...) currently teaching at prestigious Swiss institutions. Learn more about Marcin Habela

Stephan Macleod

Professor of Voice

Stephan MacLeod is a singer and conductor. Born in Geneva, he is the founder and artistic director of Gli Angeli Genève, a vocal and instrumental ensemble specializing in 16th to 19th-century repertoires on period instruments. He conducts between 40 and 50 concerts annually worldwide, with an increasing number as a guest conductor with modern orchestras, particularly in the repertoire of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries. Concurrently, he continues his singing career and has been teaching at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 2023, after ten years of teaching at the Haute école de musique de Lausanne from 2013 to 2023. During the 2023/24 season, he leads Gli Angeli Genève in numerous projects, where he also sings the bass solo parts: Bach's St. Matthew Passion at the Basilica of Vézelay, Bach's B minor Mass at the Victoria Hall and on a Swiss tour, Bach's Magnificat at the Bruges Festival, as well as at Musiques en été in Geneva, the Besançon Festival, and in Alsace, numerous Bach cantatas as part of Gli Angeli Genève's complete cantata concert series, Handel's Messiah at the Victoria Hall and on tour, and Mozart's Requiem, alongside concertos and symphonies by Mozart and Haydn during the ensemble's annual Mozart-Haydn Festival, where he also sings the title role in Mendelssohn's Paulus under the baton of Leonardo Garcia Alarcón. He will conduct the OSR in March in a program blending Stravinsky with Machaut and Gesualdo, the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra in a symphonic program where he also sings two Mozart concert arias, the Oslo Baroque Orchestra in a Telemann-Bach program, and perform as a soloist at the Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, the Berlin Staatsoper Baroque Festival, and in Leipzig with the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Thomanerchor. He will tour with Bach's Magnificat and the Nederlandse Bachvereniging in December and Bach's St. Matthew Passion with Philippe Herreweghe's Collegium Vocale Gent in March. He will sing Bach's other Passion in March in Hungary and continue recording the complete Wind Concertos by Mozart with Gli Angeli Genève. Recent highlights include performing and recording the previously unpublished symphonie concertante for two cellos and orchestra by Anton Reicha with Gli Angeli Genève and cellists Christophe Coin and Davit Melkonyan, conducting the Philharmonie Zuidnederland in Bach's St. Matthew Passion, another St. Matthew Passion at the KKL in Lucerne with Gli Angeli Genève, a recital of Mozart arias at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, several Lieder recitals with Kristian Bezuidenhout, performing and recording the complete flute concertos by Mozart (released in 2022), acclaimed recordings of Bach's St. Matthew Passion (2020), B minor Mass (2021), Cantatas for Bass (2022), and St. John Passion (2023), as well as a Josquin disc in 2023. In 2019, he received an ICMA award with Gli Angeli Genève in the category "Best Vocal Baroque Recording of the Year" for the CD Sacred Music of the 17th Century in Wroclaw (Claves). Stephan MacLeod studied violin and piano before turning to singing, initially studying at the Conservatoire de Genève, then with Kurt Moll at the Musikhochschule in Cologne, and finally with Gary Magby at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne. His singing career began during his studies in Germany with a fruitful collaboration with Reinhard Goebel and Musica Antiqua Köln. This opened the doors to the world of oratorio for him. Since then, he has sung on the world's most prestigious stages, under conductors such as Philippe Herreweghe, Jordi Savall, Frieder Bernius, Franz Brüggen, Masaaki Suzuki, Michel Corboz, Gustav Leonhardt, Christophe Coin, Konrad Junghänel, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Sigiswald Kuijken, Vaclav Luks, Philippe Pierlot, Helmut Rilling, Rudolf Lutz, Raphaël Pichon, Paul Van Nevel, and Jos Van Immerseel, as well as with Daniel Harding and Jesús López Cobos. He has also sung in opera productions at La Monnaie in Brussels, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opéra National de Toulouse, Opéra de Nîmes, Opéra National de Bordeaux, and Cologne. Since 2005, alongside his singing career, he has also devoted himself to conducting, founding Gli Angeli Genève, with which he records one or two albums a year. Stephan MacLeod's discography as a singer and conductor includes over 100 CDs, many of which have been critically acclaimed. From 2013 to 2023, he was a singing professor at the Haute école de musique de Lausanne, and since 2023, he has been at the Haute école de musique de Genève. He balances his career between teaching, his singing engagements, his ensemble, and the growing demand for him as a conductor, particularly for conducting Bach and Mozart. He regularly conducts musicians from the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Purcell Choir, and Orfeo Orchestra, among others. Learn more about Stephan Macleod

Andreas Ortwein

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

Denis Rouger

Professeur de direction de chœur

Denis Rouger est reconnu pour la riche sonorité de ses ensembles et la finesse de son interprétation. Il a fait ses premiers pas musicaux au sein d’une famille parisienne de musiciens et a ensuite étudié au Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris ou il a remporté des premiers prix en harmonie, fugue et contrepoint. Pendant 20 ans, il a été professeur et chef de chœur à l’Université Paris-Sorbonne et pendant 10 ans il a assuré la direction des chœurs de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.  Il est maitre de chapelle honoraire de l’église de La Madeleine à Paris. En Allemagne, il a travaillé avec de nombreux ensembles et a ainsi été invité à diriger différents chœurs de radio, le Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, le Chœur Régional des Jeunes de Bade-Wurtemberg, ainsi que l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Stuttgart. Des concerts l’ont conduit en Italie, aux Pays-Bas, au Canada, en Russie, dans les Emirats Arabes Unis et en Suisse (Festival de Lucerne). Il donne des masterclasses en Suède, en Bulgarie, en France, en Allemagne et en Suisse. Depuis 2011, Denis Rouger est professeur de direction de chœur à la Musikhochschule (Haute école de musique) de Stuttgart. Le chœur de chambre de la Musikhochschule qu’il a créé à l’automne 2011 a remporté en 2014 le premier prix au Concours choral international de Mosbach (Allemagne). En dehors de son travail de chef de chœur, il compose et arrange le répertoire mélodique français et allemand pour chœur. Les CD "Kennst du das Land ..., ... wo die Zitronen blühn (Carus) et Rencontre – Begegnung" (Carus/SWR) qui présentent ces arrangements ont été salués par la critique. En 2025 sortira un disque avec les œuvres du compositeur contemporain Philippe Mazé en coopération avec la radio SWR et le label Coviello. En coopération avec les éditions Carus, il a publié le recueil Musique chorale française qui s’est vu décerner en 2019 le Prix allemand de la meilleure édition musicale ≪ Best Edition ≫.  En 2016, Denis Rouger a créé le figure humaine kammerchor (www.figurehumaine.de) avec lequel il se produit régulièrement en concert lors de festivals de renom. À partir de septembre 2024 il enseigne également à la Haute école de musique de Genève. On devrait faire faire un apprentissage à chaque futur chef de chœur auprès de Denis Rouger. […] Même dans le plus grand fortissimo, le geste de Rouger reste rond. Une „technique de battue anguleuse“ n’existe pas chez ce magicien du son. Le résultat est un jaillissement constant de sons, différencié de façon très variée. […]Peter Skobowsky, Rems-Zeitung

Susanne Schimmack

Professor of Voice

"Sensational!" "First class." "Impressive!" This is how the press describes the performances of Susanne Schimmack. When the German soprano Susanne Schimmack competed in the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 1997, she was described as "the Rolls Royce of voices." "Susanne Schimmack's Cassandra dominates the entire performance with her noble phrasing, intelligent interpretation of the role, and excellent French diction" (Opéra). Since then, Susanne Schimmack has successfully sung around 90 opera roles, including Turandot, Kundry/Parsifal, Feldmarschallin/Rosenkavalier, Marta Tiefland, Ellen Orford/Peter Grimes, Cassandra/Les Troyens, and Carmen/Carmen. Her engagements have taken her to the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the National Czech Opera in Brno, the Staatstheater in Mainz, the Nationaltheater in Mannheim, Opera Pacific USA, Arizona Opera USA, the Pfalztheater in Kaiserslautern, the theaters of Dortmund, Frankfurt, Chemnitz, the Staatstheater in Kassel, Dessau, Lübeck, Ulm, Trier, Wuppertal, Gera, the Dresden Music Festival, the Budapest Spring Festival, the Festival d'Auvers-sur-Oise in France, the Bad Hersfeld Festival, and the broadcasting companies BBC, DR, ZDF, WDR, and NDR. Alongside Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, she recorded a complete edition of Massenet's Manon under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano. Born in Witten, Germany, Ms. Schimmack received her artistic training in the United States at the University of California, Irvine. Masterclasses with Martin Katz, Marilyn Horne, Professor Ellen Müller-Preiss, and Ks. Christa Ludwig in New York complemented her studies. She further developed her vocal technique and transitioned from alto to dramatic soprano with Ks. Martha Dewal and Ks. Ileana Cotrubas in Vienna and David Jones in New York. She made her professional opera debut as Rossweisse/Walküre with Arizona Opera USA in 1991 and her German debut as Erda/Rheingold. Susanne Schimmack was the first soloist at the Dortmund Opera from 1993 to 1998 and at the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen from 1998 to 2000. She has worked as an independent singer since 2000 and has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Antonio Pappano, Thomas Dausgaard, Michael Schønwandt, Frank Beermann, Giordano Bellincampi, Laurent Wagner, and directors Sir Peter Hall, John Dew, and Heinz Lukas-Kindermann. Susanne Schimmack's repertoire also includes oratorio and lieder, particularly the great song cycles of Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Richard Wagner. She is a laureate of several international competitions: the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, the International Wagnerian Voices Competition, and the International Singing Competition of Paris. She received the Jessye Norman Scholarship from the Orange County Philharmonic Society USA and the Bajazzo Prize from the Dortmund Opera for her outstanding artistic achievement. Learn more about Susanne Schimmack

Clémence Tilquin

Professor of Voice

After studying cello and singing at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève with François Guye and Danielle Borst, earning two Master's degrees with Distinction, Clémence Tilquin embarked on a dual career in Europe and Japan. As a laureate of the prestigious Leenaards Foundation, she decided in 2010 to fully dedicate herself to singing and further honed her skills in London, Oslo, Brussels, and Milan. Soon, engagements began pouring in. The young soprano made her debut at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie as Papagena and later joined the young troupe of the Grand Théâtre de Genève. In 2012, she performed as Adina in Donizetti's opera in Austria, appeared in "La Fille de Madame Angot" in Liège, and portrayed the Princess in Ravel's opera at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. She also played roles such as Poppea in Monteverdi's works under Leonardo Garcia-Alarcon, Drusilla in Monteverdi's opera and Elettra in Mozart's works at the Opéra de Montpellier, Elvira in Rossini's opera, Gabrielle in Offenbach's opera, Frasquita in Bizet's opera at the Opéra d'Avignon, Brigitte in Offenbach's opera at the Opéra de Nancy, Lucinde in Gounod's opera at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Lauretta in Puccini's opera, Fiordiligi in Mozart's opera, Fannì in Rossini's opera, and Alcina in Vivaldi's opera at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées. In concert, Clémence Tilquin has performed Neukomm's Requiem with Jean-Claude Malgoire, Pierrot Lunaire by Schönberg and Dallapiccola at the Musiekgebaw in Amsterdam, Stravinsky with the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris, Mendelssohn's Elias and Rossini's Stabat Mater with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Sturzenegger's Anakrôn, Gounod at the Palazetto Bru Zane in Venice, Mozart's Comtesse at the Opéra Royal de Versailles, Saint-Saëns's Ascanio at the Grand Théâtre de Genève (recording), and Saint-Saëns's Proserpine with the Bayerischen Rundfunk in Munich. She has performed under the baton of conductors such as John Nelson, James Loughran, Wolfgang Rihm, Jean-Claude Malgoire, Emmanuel Krivine, Michail Jurowski, and Gabòr Takacs (Cinderella by Franck Martin, recording). In 2019, she portrayed Vitellia in Mozart's "La Clémence de Titus," Berenice in Rossini's "L'Occasione fa il ladro" at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, and upcoming performances include Mozart conducted by François-Xavier Roth, Strauss's "Four Last Songs," the role of Fannì in Rossini's opera, and Beethoven's "Christ on the Mount of Olives" in Montreal. Learn more about Clémence Tilquin.

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.

Andreas Wolf

Professor of Voice

A young baritone with a confident voice and clear diction, Andreas Wolf maintains a steady career, primarily in Europe. His voice flourishes in the 18th-century repertoire but also makes some beautiful forays into the Romantic and contemporary periods. He began his musical journey in 1994 at the music school in Wernigerode, where he also joined the Rundfunk-Jugendchor (Radio Youth Choir). In 2002, he received a scholarship to study at the University of Music in Detmold under Heiner Eckels. He attended masterclasses with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Andras Schiff, Christoph Prégardien, and Thomas Quasthoff, eager to understand the respective methods these great singers used to achieve such a high degree of excellence. In 2006, Andreas Wolf joined the European Academy of Aix-en-Provence, which allowed him to grow artistically and gain wider recognition. Since his debut at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2007 in Monteverdi's Orfeo (conducted by René Jacobs), Andreas Wolf has been regularly invited by operas and major concert halls, working with renowned conductors such as William Christie, Raphaël Pichon, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Bertrand de Billy, and Sylvain Cambreling. Although Andreas Wolf excels in the baroque repertoire, he also performs Romantic works by Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Hugo Wolf; he also sang in Schoenberg's Moses and Aaron at the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Sylvain Cambreling. In 2017, he participated in the creation of the Requiem by Dutch composer Willem Jeths at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Andreas Wolf travels across Europe on tours, such as a recent one with Il Pomo d'Oro, accompanied by Franco Fagioli. His growing discography includes Handel's Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, conducted by Marcus Creed, which was a choice of France Musique. Learn more about Andreas Wolf.

Talia Bachir-Loopuyt

Responsable de la filière ethnomusicologie - Professeure d'ethnomusicologie

Talia Bachir-Loopuyt est ethnomusicologue et anthropologue, spécialiste des musiques du Maghreb et du Moyen-Orient (en particulier la Turquie) dont elle étudie la diffusion et transmission en Europe (Allemagne, France, Suisse). Elle a reçu une première formation en Études germaniques à l’École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (menant à l’Agrégation, 2004) tout en suivant une formation musicale en musique orientale (oud, kementche, improvisation modale) à l’École Nationale de Musique de Villeurbanne et en Turquie. Sa thèse rédigée en cotutelle à l’EHESS Paris et à l’Université Humboldt (Berlin) a porté sur des festivals de musiques du monde et l’idéal d’une société plurielle en Allemagne. En tant que post-doctorante (Université de Saint-Etienne, Université de Lausanne), elle a travaillé sur la diffusion des musiques turques en France et sur la visibilité de l’islam, tout en poursuivant des travaux sur l’histoire de l’ethnomusicologie, les enfants musiciens, la musique dans des sociétés plurielles. Depuis 2016, elle a été maîtresse de conférences à Tours où elle a notamment contribué à la création du Master Musique et Sciences Humaines (avec l’Université de Poitiers). Impliquée dans plusieurs organisations académiques (SFE, IMS, ICTM) et comités de revues, elle est aussi co-directrice du festival Haizebegi à Bayonne et membre du conseil scientifique du CMTRA – Ethnopôle Musique, territoires, interculturalité.

Patrik Vincent Dasen

Professor of Ethnomusicology, Master’s Research Seminar, World Music Workshop

Patrik Dasen graduated in ethnomusicology from the Université Paris X Nanterre (Maîtrise, 1999) and the Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis (Master 2, 2009), where he also completed a doctoral thesis in March 2020 entitled "Becoming and Being a Maker of Irish Bagpipes Uilleann Pipes: Between Deterritorialization and Heritage Preservation," under the supervision of Prof. Luc Charles-Dominique. His research focuses on the processes of transmission and heritage preservation of musical traditions. He worked for ten years at the Ateliers d'ethnomusicologie de Genève as the head of educational activities and public relations. He also led, with a small team, the cataloging and digitization campaign of the Archives Internationales de Musique Populaire (AIMP, 2005-2011) by Constantin Brailoiu, which are now fully accessible at the Musée d'ethnographie de Genève thanks to this preservation effort. He has been teaching ethnomusicology and the sociology of contemporary music at the Haute école de musique de Genève since 2008. Learn more about Patrik Vincent Dasen

Sarah Branchi-Cascone

Professor of piano Jaques-Dalcroze

Born in Aix-en-Provence, Sarah Branchi Cascone began her musical studies there, later completing them at the CRR of Montpellier. After obtaining Diplomas in Musical Studies in piano and chamber music, she joined the Cefedem-Sud (now IESM) at a very young age, where she earned a piano teaching diploma. Her musical journey then led her to the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) to continue her studies in the class of Dominique Weber. There, she obtained a teaching diploma and later a concert diploma. Passionate about pedagogy and teaching from a young age, Sarah Branchi Cascone has been teaching piano since 2003 at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze and within the Master’s in Pedagogy program, Jaques-Dalcroze orientation, at HEM. She has performed as a soloist and in various chamber music formations in Switzerland, France, and Argentina. In 2008, she founded the Tashko-Branchi duo with pianist Olta Tashko. The two pianists regularly perform recitals in France and Switzerland. In 2017, they participated in the complete concertos of J.S. Bach for 2, 3, and 4 pianos with the Terpsycordes Quartet. In 2019, they premiered the show "Vagabond et Visionnaire" by S. Arnauld, based on poems by F. Nietzsche.

Pablo Ernesto Cernik

Professor of Keyboard Harmony and Jaques-Dalcroze Writing - Instrumental Improvisation - Physical and Mental Preparation: Bodily Approach to Music through Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics - Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics - Jaques-Dalcroze Solfège

Pablo Cernik is currently employed as an adjunct professor, teaching in the Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, and CAS programs in the Music and Movement Department at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM). He collaborates with the department's administration on tasks related to the visibility of the programs and also with the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in coordinating the Diplôme Supérieur. He is the director of the Dalcroze Certificate programs in Italy, Spain, Chile, and Argentina. He has significantly contributed to the dissemination of the method by conducting workshops and conferences in various regions and countries across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. As an opera, chamber music, and dance pianist, his presentations have placed particular emphasis on multidisciplinary creation. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Arts at the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA) in Buenos Aires. He is a member of the Jaques-Dalcroze College and the central committee of the International Federation of Eurhythmics Teachers (FIER). He is also the president of the Dalcroze Association of Argentina.

Tamaé Gennai Deveaud

Professor of Instrumental Improvisation - Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics - Jaques-Dalcroze Solfège

Tamaé Gennai was born in Geneva, where she began her musical training at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze from a young age. In 2007, she graduated with a Master of Arts (Jaques-Dalcroze Pedagogy, receiving the Conseil d’Etat Prize and the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze Prize). She continued her studies in solfège and counterpoint at the Haute école de musique de Genève, obtaining her advanced solfège certificate in 2008. She furthered her piano and pedagogical training with Robert Kaddouch in Paris. Tamaé teaches music and movement to diverse audiences (parents-children, adolescents, seniors, the psychiatric department of HUG, etc.), and in 2019, she received the Diplôme Supérieur in the Jaques-Dalcroze method, allowing her to teach the method to professionals. On this occasion, she was awarded the Aletheia Foundation Prize for her group choreography. She teaches eurhythmics, solfège, pedagogy, improvisation, and performance creation at the Haute Ecole des Arts de Berne. Since 2021, she has also been teaching regularly in Bucharest. In addition to her career as a pedagogue and teacher, Tamaé performs as a musician and singer on stages in Switzerland, France, and Sweden with singer and guitarist Jackson Wahengo (traditional music of Namibia) and writes and directs numerous multidisciplinary shows (music, dance, theater) with the Compagnie TaMiErO. In 2019, she was awarded a writing grant from the Swiss Society of Authors for her children's show "L’enfant do," which was premiered at the Petit Théâtre de Lausanne. Dedicated to linking her stage and pedagogical skills to serve audiences with limited access to the arts, she has created several performance projects in the slums of Kolkata and Mumbai, in Geneva's Villas Yoyo, and within the creativity workshops of the IJD. Learn more about Tamaé Gennai Deveaud.

Stephane Ginsburgh

Professor of Jaques-Dalcroze Piano

Stéphane Ginsburgh has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at numerous international festivals such as Ars Musica, Quincena Musical, ZKM Imatronic, Agora Ircam, Bach Academie Brugge, Ultima Oslo, Darmstadt Ferienkurse, Gaida (Vilnius), Warsaw Autumn, Musica Strasbourg, Klara Festival, and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. A tireless explorer of the repertoire and an adventurer in new combinations involving voice, percussion, performance, or electronics, he dedicated himself early on to contemporary music while developing a vast classical repertoire. He regularly performs with the Ictus ensemble and has collaborated with composers such as Frederic Rzewski, Jean-Luc Fafchamps, Stefan Prins, Alec Hall, and Matthew Shlomowitz, premiering their works. He has also worked with choreographers such as Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Enthusiastic about immersive performances, Stéphane Ginsburgh has performed the complete Prokofiev sonatas or the last six Beethoven sonatas in a single evening. After earning a Master's degree in music, he studied with Paul Badura-Skoda, Claude Helffer, Jerome Lowenthal, and Vitaly Margulis. He was the artistic director of the Centre Henri Pousseur, a studio for mixed and electronic music based in Liège. He holds a Bachelor's degree in the philosophy of science from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and a PhD in Arts from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel. Stéphane Ginsburgh has recorded about fifteen albums for Sub Rosa, World Edition, Grand Piano (Naxos), and Kairos. His complete recording of Prokofiev's Piano Sonatas, described as a “captivating” and “essential” version (La Libre Belgique), was released by Cypres Records. Learn more about Stéphane Ginsburgh.

Florence Jaccottet

Head of the Music and Movement Department - Professor of Creative Experimentation Workshop - Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics - Movement Technique and Composition - Coordinator of Physical and Mental Preparation

Born in 1989 in Lausanne, Florence Jaccottet began studying Jaques-Dalcroze eurhythmics at a young age at the Conservatory of her hometown. Simultaneously, she studied piano in the class of Helena Maffli, completing her course in 2008 with a Prize of Excellence. Driven by her passion for both musical and physical expression, she pursued the Music and Movement program at the Haute école de musique de Genève, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 2011, awarded the Marguerite Croptier Lange Pedagogy Prize. Two years later, she completed her studies with a Master of Arts in Jaques-Dalcroze Pedagogy, which was recognized with the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute Prize. Florence Jaccottet is currently a scholarship recipient working towards a Diplôme Supérieur, during which she received the Prize for Excellence in Teaching Solfège. Her creation "Entrée en matières," presented in 2017 in a duo with percussionist Michael Chapon, was awarded the Alethéia Foundation Prize. In 2015, Florence Jaccottet was awarded the title of Professor of Jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics by the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute. She has been teaching this method to both adults and children in various settings since 2011 and continually deepens her expertise by participating in numerous masterclasses abroad. Since 2015, she has been teaching movement technique, composition, and creation at the Haute école de musique de Genève, and in 2018, she was appointed lecturer in eurhythmics at the institution. Balancing teaching with artistic expression, Florence Jaccottet's activities also revolve around her passion for dance, which she has explored in various forms for many years. Since 2013, she has focused particularly on contemporary dance and improvisation with Professor Emilio Artessero Quesada. Her artistic research centers on expressing rhythm and musicality through movement, creating a unique contemporary dance language. This distinctive approach has led to invitations to present her performances and the techniques she develops for future eurhythmics practitioners in Switzerland and, more recently, internationally, including in Japan and South Korea.

Hélène Nicolet

Professor of Instrumental Improvisation - jaques-Dalcroze Eurhythmics

Hélène Nicolet was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and began her musical journey through Dalcroze Eurhythmics at the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute from a young age. With a jazz musician father and an educator mother, her artistic path has been deeply influenced by improvisation and a corporeal approach. She obtained her teaching license in the Dalcroze method in 2006 (awarded for the best level of license, best adult lesson, and best rhythmic exam). Her commitment to teaching was further solidified when she earned a Master of Music Diploma from the Haute école de musique de Genève. During her stay in New York in 2011, she enhanced her interest in movement by becoming a Certified Movement Analyst at the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies. In 2013, she completed her Advanced Diploma at the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute, the highest title allowing her to fully teach and represent the method (Eurhythmics, Solfege, Improvisation). Alongside her professional training, Hélène Nicolet studied classical piano and received the amateur certificate from the Federation of Music Schools with honors from the jury. She continued her piano study through jazz and classical improvisation. She started playing the cello in her teens and participated in various musical formations (accompanist for opera singers or instrumentalists, baroque trio, jazz-folk duo, and jazz quartet). Currently, she teaches students in the Music and Movement department (Bachelor, Master, and CAS in Dalcroze Eurhythmics). She is frequently invited abroad to teach and present the Jaques-Dalcroze method at various universities and partner centers. Additionally, she works at the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute, where she has been the director since August 2023. Research Projects Proceedings of the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute Congress: https://www.hesge.ch/hem/recherche-developpement/projets-recherche/termine/actes-du-congres-linstitut-jaques-dalcroze Publications Silvia Del Bianco, Sylvie Morgenegg, Hélène Nicolet, Pédagogie, art et science: l’apprentissage par et pour la musique selon la méthode Jaques-Dalcroze, actes du Congrès de l’ijd 2015, Editions Droz et HEM, 2017.https://www.hesge.ch/hem/publications/pedagogie-art-et-science Mary Brice, Ruth Gianadda, Hélène Nicolet, « Racines d’une pratique encore en mouvement », 2019.https://www.dalcroze.ch/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Racines-dune-pratique-encore-en-mouvement.pdf Mary Brice, Ruth Gianadda, Hélène Nicolet, « Roots of a practice still in movement », 2019.https://www.dalcroze.ch/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Roots-of-a-practice-still-in-movement.pdf

Stéphane Orlando

Professeur d'Ateliers d'improvisation (coordinateur) - Harmonie au clavier et écriture Jaques-Dalcroze - Improvisation instrumentale

Lauréat du prix SABAM for culture pour la musique contemporaine en 2020, le pianiste et compositeur Stéphane Orlando collabore régulièrement avec plusieurs musicien-ne-s, ensembles et orchestres. Depuis 2022, il est devenu compositeur en résidence à l'Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège. Stéphane Orlando puise son inspiration dans la musique classique, traditionnelle et le jazz, mais aussi dans sa propre pratique de l'improvisation au piano. Il aime aussi bien composer pour un seul instrument ou en musique de chambre, avec ou sans électronique, que pour orchestre, mais il aime surtout inscrire sa musique dans un contexte narratif riche, avec une forte sensibilité pour les images, les mots et les mouvements. Stéphane Orlando enseigne l’improvisation instrumentale à la Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM). En savoir plus sur Stéphane Orlando

Pascale Rochat-Martinet

Professor of Experimental Workshop: Applied Pedagogy - Keyboard Harmony and Dalcroze Writing - Instrumental Improvisation - Improvisation for Movement and Teaching

Holder of the advanced diploma from the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, Pascale Rochat-Martinet furthered her education with choral conducting studies in Paris, classical singing at the Conservatory of Lausanne, and training for seniors at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze. She is also involved in the creative group "Aldente," which combines music, theater, and movement. Passionate about pedagogy, she has created numerous rhythmics-solfege courses at the Conservatory of Lausanne, leading her students to certification. Currently, she teaches piano improvisation, rhythmics, and solfege at the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) as well as at the Haute école de musique de Lausanne (HEMU). Her teaching is directed towards rhythmicians, future piano teachers, and concert performers. She is regularly invited to teach at international higher education institutions and universities. Always seeking to refresh and renew her teaching methods, she has undertaken jazz piano studies. Improvisation being her specialty, she also practices this discipline in various fields: organ improvisation, accompanying Gospel singers, and creating music for podcasts. Her artistic journey is rich, varied, and eclectic. Pascale Rochat-Martinet loves to share her joy of music with everyone, without distinction.

Olivier Rogg

Coordinator of the Music in Schools Orientation, Professor of Modern Improvisation, Transcreations, Ensemble Practice of Contemporary Music

Pianist, composer, and teacher, Olivier Rogg has practiced improvisation from a young age and has accumulated diverse experiences in all areas of contemporary music. In 1983, he obtained his Master of Music Diploma from the Conservatory of Geneva and won the 1st prize for jazz improvisation at the Lyon Festival as well as the Rochette Prize for organ improvisation in Geneva. A member of several groups, including the renowned collective Piano Seven, he has recorded around twenty CDs and performed in Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Lebanon, Egypt, Brazil, the United States, China, Thailand, and Singapore. He composes for various ensembles, from piano duos—notably with Alaskan Lee Maddeford—to the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, for which he wrote "Météorythmes" in 1999 and "Cyclomotion" in 2010 with his colleague and friend Philippe Genevay. With his wife Cécile Polin Rogg and lyricist Janry Varnel, he has co-written more than 150 songs, mostly intended for children's choirs. Deeply involved in music education in public schools, Olivier Rogg teaches at Collège du Renard and the Haute école de musique de Genève, where he is the coordinator of the "Music in Schools" program. Learn more about Olivier Rogg

Carine Tripet Lievre

Responsibles of pedagogical programs - Professor of Education Sciences

Holder of a PhD in Social and Political Sciences, specializing in Education Sciences, Carine Tripet is also a musician. Coming from a jazz background but specialized in world vocal music, she is active in Valais where her musical projects revolve around immigration issues and Valaisan heritage. She received the Musique Pro Valais cultural scholarship for the period 2014-2017 with her project ViaVallesia. Formerly a professor at the Haute Ecole Pédagogique du Valais, where she led several programs, she also taught Applied Education Sciences in Music Education for six years at HEMU. The content of her courses is decidedly interdisciplinary, drawing from various relevant disciplines (including, but not limited to: didactics, sociology, developmental psychology, neuroscience, ethics, law), to establish a solid network of concepts and notions that enable young teachers to self-analyze their practice. Her research focuses on the construction of the professional identity of music teachers in connection with cultural democracy. Since 2022, she has been coordinating the pedagogy program at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève.

Daniel Zea Gomez

Atelier d'expérimentation créative / Électroacoustique Jaques-Dalcroze

Designer, artiste sonore et compositeur, Daniel Zea vit et travaille à Genève. Son univers artistique gravite autour de la musique instrumentale et électroacoustique, la performance hybride mêlant vidéo, son, systèmes de captation gestuelle et physical computing, ainsi que de la programmation. Il collabore régulièrement dans des projets interdisciplinaires (arts visuels, chorégraphie, performance), et il donne des cours à la Haute École d’Art et Design de Genève. Il participe à la direction artistique de l’ensemble Vortex, y travaillant à la fois en tant que compositeur et interprète de musique électroacoustique. Très actif dans le domaine pédagogique, il a été artiste référant des résidences artistiques multidisciplinaires à la Fondation Royaumont, et récemment au GRAME, centre de création musicale à Lyon. Sa pièce The Fuck Facebook Face Orchestra a été lauréate du Giga Hertz Preis 2016 du ZKM (Karlsruhe, Allemagne), et en 2017, Pocket Enemy a fait parti de la sélection de l’International Rostrum of Composers. En 2023 ira reçu le Prix pour les Arts Sonores de la Fondation Liechti. Dans son travail, il porte une réflexion interrogative et critique sur la relation de notre société au numérique, parfois avec un certain engagement politique non dépourvu d’humour. Cependant, ses intérêts musicaux ne s’arrêtent pas sur la création expérimentale contemporaine.  Il est aussi passionné du folklore. Côté colombien, il explore le répertoire de la région caraïbe (cumbia, fandango, porro) avec Palenque la Papayera. Amoureux de la musique traditionnelle du Sud-est mexicain, il est membre des groupes Cocoxoca et Gema y sus Valedores.   Daniel Zea était l’invité du Festival Les Amplitudes de La Chaux-de-Fonds en 2024. En savoir plus sur Daniel Zea