Promoting young talent in the "prairie"

The aim of the founders of the foundation, Henri Thiébaud (1906-2001) and Margrith Thiébaud-Frey (1909-2004), was to preserve their villa in Bellmund, known as La Prairie, with its large grounds and view of Lake Biel, as a "cultural center for all the future" with their fortune earned in the watch industry. Until 2004, young up-and-coming artists were invited to give occasional concerts in the villa's salon with a close circle of friends. Once many legal issues had been clarified, the foundation's mission could be implemented from 2007. Samuel Dähler introduced concert series with mostly up-and-coming artists ("Jeunesse") but also with renowned artists ("Excellence"). The villa, which dates back to the 1950s, was renovated and extended with a 100-seat chamber music concert hall. Jürgen Reinhold from BBM Munich was called in to deal with acoustic issues. The new concert hall at the La Prairie cultural center was opened with a concert by the Oliver Schnyder Trio on 2 April 2016.

Photo: Guy Perrenoud/Foundation Thiébaud-Frey

The concert hall was opened in 2016.

Flurin Tschurr, a member of the Foundation Board from 2008 to 2019, established cooperation with regional music schools and the foundation has been awarding prizes as part of the Swiss Youth Music Competition since 2005. Gunhard Mattes has been in charge of the foundation's activities since 2017. The focus remains on organizing the foundation's own concerts, and the "Lauréats" series has been added.

The first concert of the 2020/21 season celebrated the 25th anniversary of the foundation with a performance by the Oliver Schnyder Quintet. Until the end of June 2021 Around 20 concerts on the program. They usually begin in the early evening and end with a snack where the audience and performers can get to know each other. To mark the anniversary, Elisabeth Aellen, Managing Director, and Gabrielle Wanzenried, member of the Board of Trustees, have published a commemorative publication that documents the background, history and current situation of the foundation with a wealth of illustrations.