The Orchestra of the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) is formed of students from the institution. It benefits from partnerships with renowned professional formations in the Lake Geneva region, and interest from renowned conductors.  International tours are arranged every year. The orchestra has performed in Hungary, China, Japan, France, Singapore and Finland.

An important cultural player in the region, the Orchestra of the HEM regularly collaborates with the Grand Théâtre de Genève (GTG), the Paléo festival in Nyon and the Archipel contemporary music festival. The orchestra academy that is organised every two years with the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK), under renowned conductors, is a major event in the life of the school.  The Orchestra of the HEM regularly collaborates with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR), the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève (OCG), the Ensemble Symphonique Neuchâtelois (ESN), and the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie (OPS).

The promotion of the contemporary repertoire, close ties with the HEM’s composition class and the many collaborations with Geneva’s Contrechamps contemporary music ensemble enable our students to perform music from our times and create the works written by our young composers.

The Orchestra of the HEM is conducted by renowned conductors, including Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Leonardo García Alarcón, Pierre-André Valade, Emmanuel Krivine, Pierre Bleuse, Markus Stenz and Domingo Garcia Hindoyan. In 2023-2024, the Orchestre de la HEM will host Clement Power, Laurent Gay, Peter Eötvös, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Guillaume Tourniaire, Kevin Griffith, Facundo Agudin and Victorien Vanoosten.

It is also conducted by students in the HEM’s orchestra conducting class (Professor Laurent Gay), during sessions organised within the framework of the course of studies.

Since it was first created, the Orchestra of the HEM has taken part in the recording of several discs, some of which have earned international critical acclaim.