LES HEM suisses cultivent la diversité / Lively diversity at the Swiss music universities

The Conférence des Hautes Écoles de Musique Suisses (CHEMS) aims in particular to encourage the diversity of Swiss music schools in order to guarantee a range that is as broad and complete as possible in terms of musical styles and music education. The range of these offers is of great importance. In addition to the standard training programs, certain high schools distinguish themselves through individual offers. The wide range of bachelor's and master's degree courses and the complementary courses offered by the Zurich University of the Arts make it one of the best art schools in Europe. The two high schools in French-speaking Switzerland, located in Geneva and Lausanne, are ideally complemented by the diversity of their curricula. The Geneva school is based on the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, founded in 1915, one of the oldest institutions in the world in the field of music and movement teaching. In Lausanne, the jazz and contemporary music departments are offered exclusively in French-speaking Switzerland. In this field, Lucerne contributes particularly to the diversity of the Swiss (or even European) landscape of music schools. In fact, Swiss folkloric music has experienced an unprecedented revival of interest over the last few decades, an enthusiasm to which Lucerne has responded with a branch of folkloric music. To illustrate the incredible range of music on offer, we will focus on Bâle and the interpretation of old-time music. Bâle is an international center of musical knowledge, where the music of the past is performed, studied and researched. The Haute école de musique de Berne acts as a bridge between Swiss and French-speaking Switzerland and focuses in particular on the teaching of music. The diversity of the Haute école de musique tessinoise is supported by the cadre italophone in which the school occupies a place of choice in the field of instrumental and vocal pedagogy, in particular with a double master's degree in collaboration with the Haute école pédagogique de Locarno.

Matthias von Orelli - In addition to the general training programs, which are similar at all schools, the individual universities distinguish themselves with individual offerings. Students encounter this diversity at each university on a daily basis, for example in the extensive range of cultural activities on offer, some of which are rooted in the history of the individual institutes. The Zurich University of the Arts was formed from the merger of the University of Art and Design and the University of Music and Performing Arts and has been housed in the creative environment of the Toni-Areal since September 2014. With an enormous range of Bachelor's and Master's degree programs and continuing education courses in a wide variety of art fields, as well as research, artistic research and design research, it is one of the leading art academies in Europe. This diversity makes it possible to provide interdisciplinary answers to complex questions of our time, based on strong disciplinary competencies. Zurich attaches great importance to national and international cooperation (for example with the university and ETH), which opens up networks for students' future careers.

With Geneva and Lausanne, French-speaking Switzerland has two music academies that ideally complement each other in their diversity thanks to their focus. With its conservatory, Geneva has the oldest music education institution in Switzerland and can look back on a correspondingly long tradition. With the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, which was founded in 1915, it is also home to one of the oldest institutions in the field of music and movement training. In addition, Lausanne is home to the joint Institut romand de pédagogie musicale (IRPM) of the two music academies, which focuses on education, music education research and the teaching of music, complemented by the professional training of music teachers and music lecturers. The diversity is also enriched by numerous collaborations with regional partners, as exemplified by the universities in Geneva and Lausanne. Another aspect in Geneva is the Master's degree course in ethnomusicology, which was offered for the first time in the 2016/2017 academic year (in collaboration with the universities of Geneva and Neuchâtel). The joint collaboration between the two universities of music in French-speaking Switzerland at the Institut de recherche en musique et arts de la scène (IRMAS) represents a further enrichment.

Based in Geneva and founded in 2005, the Center for Electroacoustic Music (CME) is - alongside the equally renowned Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology in Zurich - a center of excellence in the field of composition, electroacoustics and musical informatics. This center addresses the issues of dissemination and transmission of electronic music and the divergences between technical innovations and traditional composition. The center's work has gained significance through international cooperation with institutes such as IRCAM in Paris and the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montréal. Historically, classical music has been taught at the Lausanne School of Music for over 150 years. The range of courses on offer is complemented by the jazz and contemporary music departments (which are spread over four locations) in particular. The Lausanne School of Music also works very closely with non-professional courses at the Conservatoire de Lausanne, which is particularly advantageous for students.

In the field of contemporary music, the Lucerne School of Music also offers pioneering courses in interpretation, improvisation and composition with Contemporary Music Studies. These are aimed at instrumentalists who wish to pursue an artistic-interpretative career in contemporary music. For example, graduates are offered the opportunity to participate in the HELIX ensemble, the OFF program of the Donaueschinger Musiktage or to help shape the annual Wege der Wahrnehmung festival and the New Music Days festival.

In Ticino, too, there is a focus on performance, where great emphasis is placed on new music, which manifests itself, for example, in the fact that conducting training focuses on ensemble conducting in the field of contemporary music or a vocal class specializing in new music. This significance is also enhanced by the fact that the Scuola Universitaria di Musica is also a leader in music production in this area.

In Lucerne, the Lucerne Conservatory, the Lucerne Academy of School and Church Music and the Lucerne Jazz School came together in 1999 to form the Lucerne School of Music, which in turn is part of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Central Switzerland. In one area in particular, Lucerne contributes to the diversity of the Swiss music academy landscape. Due to the fact that Swiss folk music has experienced an unprecedented upswing in recent decades and traditional music is appealing to more and more musicians and listeners, the Lucerne School of Music (within the Bachelor of Arts in Music program) offers a folk music major. In addition to lessons on the main instrument, the program includes numerous ensemble courses in which a wide-ranging repertoire is developed. The focus is on the university's own folk music ensemble Alpini Vernähmlassig, which has since become a much sought-after ensemble. What further emphasizes the aspect of diversity is the extension of the study experience to other areas, which is why folk music students always have to take classical music or jazz as well. With this broad spectrum, the next generation of folk music students can be offered an ideal training platform with great potential.

The diversity of the aforementioned Ticino School of Music is certainly helped by its proximity to the Italian-speaking environment, for which the school occupies a special position in the field of instrumental and vocal pedagogy. Also new is a double master's degree offered under the umbrella of the Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana together with the University of Teacher Education in Locarno, which covers everything from music and movement to music teaching at elementary school and school music I.

The Basel music academies on the Musik-Akademie campus, which have been part of the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland since 2008, deserve special attention. Although the Hochschule für Musik, founded in 1907, and the Schola cantorum Basiliensis, founded by Paul Sacher in 1933, have different focuses, they are driven by a similar spirit of innovation, which is also a special feature of the city in other artistic genres. Central to this is the continuous dialog between practice and research. This is demonstrated by the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, which has provided decisive impetus for historical performance practice from the very beginning and has become a center of knowledge with international appeal. A similar pioneering spirit gave rise very early on to courses of study at the Hochschule für Musik with a focus on new music, where interpretation, free improvisation and composition are taught and reflected upon. In the electronic studio, which played an important role in this, numerous impulses were given and important experience was gained, which later flowed into the completely newly conceived Jazz Master in Producing and Performance, for example. Another Basel specialty is the focus on chamber music, which finds expression in the regular courses of study and in the graduate course for string quartets (Walter Levin Chair).

The Department of Music at Bern University of the Arts creates a bridge between German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland with its locations in Bern and Biel, which is reflected in the wide range of courses on offer, but also thanks to lecturers from both cultural regions. A central focus is on transdisciplinarity and music education, which run through all content, as does the lively research activity, such as the study of historical wind instruments. In cooperation with the University of Bern, the Bern University of Music offers the opportunity to study for a doctorate in the jointly run Graduate School of the Arts. It also runs the Swiss Opera Studio and has a specialty in music and media art as well as the Théâtre musical specialization, a course for musicians who see themselves as both composers and performers.