La Haute école de musique Genève – Neuchâtel (HEM)

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 21,000 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.