Orchestral instruments department

The HEM's Ensemble 21 is a flexible ensemble dedicated to contemporary repertoires and creation.

Many composers have honoured it with their presence and shared their advice with HEM students: Henri Dutilleux, Sofia Gubaïdulina, Maurice Ohana, Edison Denisov, Klaus Huber, Elliott Carter, Ysang Yun, Eric Gaudibert, Yoshihisa Taïra, Heinz Holliger, George Benjamin, Helmut Lachenmann, Michael Levinas, Toshio Hosokawa, György Kurtág, Pascal Dusapin, etc.

Led by guest conductors, Ensemble 21 has collaborated with, among others, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Contrechamps ensemble, the Société de Musique Contemporaine de Lausanne, the Nouvel ensemble contemporain (NEC), the Amadeus Festival and the Archipel Festival. Radio Suisse Romande has recorded it at several events.

Ensemble 21 was founded on the initiative of Jean-Jacques Balet, a former professor of chamber music and accompaniment at the HEM and a passionate lover of contemporary music. Continuing this project, which was so dear to his heart, is a way of paying tribute to him.

Composed of students from the institution, the Workshop Orchestra is a flexible ensemble that forms an integral part of the HEM's offering in terms of collective practice.

A veritable laboratory, it allows students in the conducting class to gain real-world experience of their discipline, with an average of one two-day session per month, in addition to their theory and piano lessons.

In a spirit of healthy competition, the workshop orchestra sessions allow musicians to tackle key works from the classical repertoire to contemporary music, under the baton of young conductors and the supervision of Laurent Gay, professor of conducting.

These sessions also provide an opportunity several times a year for students at the institution to take their first steps as soloists with an orchestra.

This training is also used for conducting courses for choir conductors, students of maestro al cembalo and composers, who can thus learn about orchestral conducting in extremely practical conditions.

The Red Flag Ensemble is an ensemble composed of students from the HEM. Under the guidance of our professor Hélène Escriva, the Red Flag Ensemble designs and implements experimental artistic projects with unlimited aesthetics by collaborating with artists from diverse backgrounds. Conceived as a living laboratory, it cultivates creativity, interdisciplinary encounters, non-conformism and conviviality.

Under the direction of our saxophone professor Joshua Hyde, the HEM Big Band brings together HEM students to perform a repertoire of jazz standards in a large ensemble, in the grand tradition of the legendary bands of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Benny Goodman. Since its creation in 2023, the HEM Big Band has been regularly invited to perform at major festive events. Notably, it opened the 2024 Geneva Music Festival on the forecourt of the Grand Théâtre and provided the entertainment for the closing dance party celebrating the HEM's 15th anniversary at the BFM in Geneva in February 2025.