HEMU – Haute École de Musique

HEMU – Haute École de Musique is an educational institution reputed for its demanding and comprehensive elite training, as well as its involvement with professional circles and its investment in the musical life. Multidisciplinary and multi-genre, the HEMU encompasses every training profile in classical, jazz and pop music.

Located in the heart of Europe, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the HEMU welcomes over 500 students from 39 different nationalities, and offers a university-level education. Valorizing theory as much as practice, its Bachelor’s and Master’s courses are developed so as to guarantee immediate access to the professional world. The teaching staff consists of numerous world-renowned artists, which ensures the students receive high-level support and supervision. 

Historically embedded within Lausanne’s Conservatoire (before the Bologna Process), classical music has been taught at the HEMU for over 150 years. Besides this, the jazz and popular music departments, which are exclusive to the French-speaking part of Switzerland, were respectively created in 2006 and 2016. Whether they pertain to the fields of performance, teaching or composition, the HEMU’s trainings carefully unite tradition, creation, research and development, always with a mind to reach, and help reach, excellence.

The HEMU offers numerous workshops, ensemble activities, internships and concerts. Each year, it produces over 300 public performances. Its attractiveness is measured by means of the masterclasses taught by prestigious musicians and the partnerships concluded with internationally renowned institutions, which, on top of bestowing students with gratifying learning experiences, enable them to create a network.

Its Bachelor’s and Master’s programs are accredited by the Confederation and are internationally recognized. Since 2009, the HEMU has been a part of the « Music and Performing Arts » faculty at the HES-SO (University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Western Switzerland), the biggest network for higher professional training in Switzerland, with over 19'400 students.