Haute Ecole De Musique Geneve

The “Haute école de musique Genève – Neuchâtel” (Geneva HEM) covers a historical and stylistic field ranging from mediaeval music to contemporary creation, as well as non-European music. The Geneva HEM originated from the professional sections of two older institutions: the Geneva Conservatory of Music, Switzerland’s oldest Conservatory, founded in 1835, and the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute, founded in 1915. A prominent cultural institution in the region, the Geneva HEM is also an internationally renowned artistic and teaching community. The school is attended by over 600 students from five continents; a hundred of them study at its Neuchâtel branch. They are trained by about a hundred highly qualified permanent and guest teachers, all of them running an active artistic or academic career. The school’s university-level courses are officially recognised by the Swiss government and provide excellent professional openings for its graduates. Since 2009 the Geneva HEM has been part of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO), a major French-language university with 19,000 students. The Geneva HEM is under the direct supervision of the Geneva branch of HES-SO. Government-owned corporation since April 1st 2014, the HES-SO Geneva formulate a development plan, synthesized in its Strategy 2025. The HEM also set up a Project of school 2015 – 2025. |
Bachelor of Arts in Music | The Bachelor of Arts in Music course takes three years. Students who have passed the admission exam take a joint course in general music training which includes teaching of solfège, harmony, music analysis or other classes such as body workshops. This basic training is completed by large and small ensemble modules and specific modules for each speciality: major instruments and historical instruments, singing and historical singing, composition, orchestral conducting, choral conducting, music at school, and music and musicology in partnership with the University of Geneva’s Musicology Unit. |
Singing | |
Historical singing | |
Composition | |
Orchestral conducting | |
Choral conducting | |
Instruments | |
Historical instruments | |
Music and musicology | |
Bachelor of Arts in Music and Movement | The Bachelor of Arts in music and movement course provided by the Music and Movement department offers musical training based on eurhythmics, a discipline that combines natural body movements, musical rhythms and imaginative and reflective abilities. Improvisation is part of the training at all levels. |
Master of Arts in Music Pedagogy | The Master of Arts in Music Pedagogy course trains students for music teaching professions at music schools and conservatories up to professional level:, or in state schools up to pre-university level. |
Instrumental / vocal teaching | |
School music | |
Jaques-Dalcroze eurhythmics | |
Master of Arts in Music Performance | The Master of Arts course in music performance trains students to work as musical performers. It enables them to envisage working as independent artists or in performing institutions such as orchestras or opera houses. |
Accompaniment | |
Concert | |
Maestro al cembalo | |
Orchestra | |
Master of Arts in Specialised Music Performance | The Master of Arts in specialised music performance is a highly demanding course that trains a small number of students with exceptional abilities for artistic work at the highest level. |
Specialised orchestral conducting | |
Specialised choral conducting | |
Mediaeval music | |
Practice of historical instruments | |
Soloist | |
Master of Arts in Composition and Theory | The Master of Arts in Composition and Music Theory course trains students for professional careers based on creativity as a composer and/or teaching or research in the field of music theory. This highly demanding course is designed for a small number of students who display the creative and/or research skills needed in order to work in either of these fields. |
Composition | |
Mixed music composition | |
Music theory | |
Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology | Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology is a joint study program between the University of Geneva (Musicology Unit), the University of Neuchâtel (Institute of Ethnology) and the Geneva Haute école de musique. Led by a team of specialists working in close collaboration, the program benefits from a wide network of international contacts. Ethnomusicology deals with the study of music and musical practices in the West and beyond, focusing more specifically on its cultural, social, ritual or transmission components. |
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