Conservatory of Lausanne

History

Name change in 2010

Until the summer of 2010, the name, "Conservatoire de Lausanne", referred to two schools with different objectives and faculties. The Music School was public institution for educating children and young adults. The Institute of Advanced Musical Studies, based in Lausanne, Sion, and Fribourg, offered a comprehensive higher education for aspiring professional musicians. To mitigate the ensuing confusion, administrators in 2010 launched two new distinct identities. The School of Music became the Lausanne Conservatory and the Lausanne Institute of Advanced Musical Studies adopted the acronym HEMU for Haute école de musique. On 1 September 2008 the classical music schools of Sion and Fribourg integrated with HEMU.

Founding in 1861

The Haute école de musique de Lausanne was founded in 1861 as the Conservatoire de Lausanne with a mandate of training and educating aspiring professional musicians. HEMU is a comprehensive music school that offers degrees leading to accredited bachelor's and master's degrees. HEMU has a cooperative affiliation with the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland.

College divisions

HEMU currently has two divisions: Classical and Jazz. In 2013, approximately 300 students were enrolled in Classical and 60 in Jazz. According to the HEMU website, its jazz department is the only one of its kind in French-speaking Switzerland. Jazz at HEMU was launched in 2006.

Library

HEMU has a large music library of scores, literature, references, and recordings.

Pre-college division

Lausanne Conservatory for children and young adults has, as of 2012, an enrollment of about 1,200 students.

Theater school

In 1909, the institution launched an acting school — Section professionnelle d'art dramatique du Conservatoire de Lausanne (SPAD). As of 2003, the acting school has been located in the Haute École de théâtre ("High School of Theater" or "HESTR") in Romandy.

Accreditation

The HEMU bachelor's and master's degrees are accredited by the Swiss government and the Music and Performing Arts division of the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO), Switzerland's largest institution of constituent schools and colleges involved in research, higher education, and professional training. HEMU is a member of the European Association of Conservatoires.

Notable faculty and alumni

HEMU directors

1861–1905: Gustavus Adolphus Koella

1905–1908: Émile-Robert Blanchet (1877–1943), pianist

1908–1921: Jules Nicati (1873–1939)

1921–1941: Charles Troyon (1867–1948)

1941–1957: Alfred Pochon (fr) (1878–1959), violinist and musicologist

1957–1967: Carlo Hemmerling (de) (1903–1967)

1967–1968: Edmond Defrancesco (interim)

1968–1972: Rainer Bösch (born 1938), composer

1972–1983: Michel Rochat

1984–1998: Jean-Jacques Rapin (de) (1932–2015)

1998–2001: Olivier Cuendet

2001–2010: Pierre Wavre

Since 2010: Hervé Klopfenstein (fr) (1957–), conductor, theory, flutist †

HEMU faculty

Roger Bobo (born 1938), low-brass virtuoso

1947–1960: Hans Haug (1900–1967), composer

1904–1917: Émile-Robert Blanchet (1877–1943), pianist

1973–1990: Ayla Erduran (tr) (1934–2025)

Current: Jorge Viladoms, pianist

1950s: Herbert von Karajan

2005–2010: David Bruchez, trombone

Pierre Amoyal (born 1949), violinist

Current: Jean-François Antonioli (born 1959), pianist, head of piano department †

Marçal Cervera (de) (born 1928), cellist

Guy Fallot (born 1927), cellist

1949: Paul Kletzki (1900–1973), conductor

Alfred Cortot (1877–1962), conductor and pianist (taught several master classes after WWII)

Muriel Rochat Rienth Muriel Rochat Rienth (born 1971), recorder (teaches in Fribourg)

André de Ribaupierre André de Ribaupierre (1893–1955), violinist

Edmond Appia (fr) (1994–1961), violinist, conductor

HEMU alumni

Jean-François Antonioli (born 1959), pianist (diploma and 1st Prize in 1977)

Constantin Brăiloiu (1893–1958), composer and ethnomusicologist

Brice Catherin (born 1981), cellist

Caroline Charrière (1960–2018), composer, flautist

Charles Dutoit (born 1936), conductor (studied with Herbert von Karajan in 1955)

Guy Fallot (fr) (1927–2018), cellist (studied at the Conservatory from 1934 to 1938; earning 1st Prize in 1938) †

Rudolph Ganz (1877–1972), composer and conductor

Eduardo Hubert, pianist

Fabio Maffei (fr) (born 1968), pianist and composer

Boris Mersson (de) (1921–2013), pianist and composer

Patrick Moraz (born 1948) (student before 1968), rock keyboardist with Yes and Moody Blues

Pat Nye (1908–1994), studied music, but became an actress

Tedi Papavrami (born 1971), violinist (graduated 1987)

Joseph Payne (1937–2008), organist, harpsichordist

Brigitte Ravenel (born 1963), mezzo-soprano

Louis Schwizgebel-Wang (born 1987), pianist

Jorge Uliarte (born 1962), conductor

Selected discography

Inauguration du Conservatoire de Lausanne du, VDE-Gallo 630 (CD) (1990); OCLC 427853451, 715358029

Bach: "Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten!" — Video on YouTube

Perrin: "Cantosenhal" — Video on YouTube

François Thury: "Mata-Hari" — Video on YouTube

Alexandra Cservený: "Les animaux chanteurs de Breme" — Video on YouTube

Gaudibert: "Feuillages" — Video on YouTube

Lena Hauser, soprano; Stephan Imboden, bass; Miguel Fernandez, narrator; Stéphane Borel, Maxime Favrod (fr), Jacques Hostettler, percussion

Lausanne Conservatory Chorus & Orchestra, Hervé Klopfenstein (fr), conductor

Tracks 3 and 5 are studio recordings; 1, 2, and 4 were recorded live on 5 April 1990

Selected videos

HEMU promotional video

Publications

Chronique du Conservatoire de Lausanne et institut de musique (journal); OCLC 714994011

Règlement général de l'Institut de musique de Lausanne, 2nd ed. (1861); OCLC 717865870

25e anniversaire de fondation de l'Institut de musique de Lausanne: 1861–1886 — statistique et catalogue des élèves (1886); OCLC 716592061

Conservatoire de Lausanne, Institut de musique: Jubilé cinquantenaire 1861–1911 — Notice historique (1911); OCLC 604598936

150 Ans en Quelques Dates: Haute Ecole de Musique et Conservatoire de Lausanne