Lausanne Conservatory


The Haute école de musique de Lausanne is a -year-old Swiss music school located in Romandy, the French-speaking district of part of western Switzerland. It is a constituent institution of the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland.

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 September 1, 2008, 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. As of 2003, the acting school has been located in the Haute École de théâtre 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, 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

, in the Conservatory of Lausanne.

HEMU faculty

Note: † signifies alumni and faculty

Selected discography

  1. Bach: "Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten!" —
  2. Perrin: "Cantosenhal" —
  3. François Thury: "Mata-Hari" —
  4. Alexandra Cservený: "Les animaux chanteurs de Breme" —
  5. Gaudibert: "Feuillages" —

    Selected videos