Denis Schuler

Just like his rich and non conventional path, Denis Schuler explores musical "territory". He draws material from such varied domains as traditional music, improvisation or the so called western classical music, confronting and combining multiple influences, allowing for his personal voice to emerge. Through thorough study of rhythm and sound material, his work investigates and approches the limits of hearing, particularly towards silence. The music proposed by Denis Schuler demands a specific kind of concentration where the ear often has to focus, catching breathes and noises and offering the audience the possibility of actively taking part in the listening process.
His compositions were commissioned and created by the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève and ensembles such as the Vortex ensemble, Nederland Kamerkoor, Tetraflûtes, Le Concert Impromptu, Quatuor Bela, Ilôrkestra and Ensemble Vide. He was awarded many prizes and received the support of from the Swiss Musician Association (ASM), the Henneberger-Mercier Foundation, the Nicati-de Luze Foundation, the Patiño Foundation, the Foundation Suisa for Music, the Cultural Founds of the Swiss state, the Loterie Romande and from the Town and State of Geneva. He also created numerous musical compositions for theatre, the Schauspielhaus in Zurich, the Tojo in Bern, the Théâtre de Carouge, the Théâtre du Grütli in Geneva and composes for tv documentaries (Le jeu de la mort, broadcasted in march 2010 on the french public tv France 2). In addition, he performs as drummer and percussionist. He plays with bands from the new french scene such as the Fantazio Gang (Paris) and Frank Williams & the Ghost Dance (Paris). Until 2003 he also played with The Dead Brothers. He performs experimental music with people like Dorothea Schürch and Jean-Jacques Pedretti (from Zurich).
Born in Geneva, Denis Schuler went on to study composition with Nicolas Bolens, Eric Gaudibert and Michael Jarrell. In 2005, he was awarded the Patiño Foundation scholarship, which enabled him to study at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, under the direction of Emanuel Nunes (CNSMDP). In 2006 he graduated with honours after composing a concerto for percussion trio and orchestra. He was the first Swiss to be awarded the first prize at the International Composition Competition of Sacred Music, Fribourg, in 2008.
Denis Schuler has been resident in the Swiss Institute Rome for the 2010-2011 academic year. His project included compositions and concerts organization, in partnership with composers, ensembles and musicians, among which the Ensemble vocal de Poche, the Ensemble vocal Séquence and the Ensemble Vide.
He is also musical curator and proposes programs and ensembles for diverse structures as the Fondation suisse – Pavillon Le Corbusier in Paris, the Eternal Tour festival and the Ensemble Vide. This work leads him to think about the contents of concerts, the venues and the way the audience perceive the whole project. He favors programs that include unusual places for contemporary music and proposes original stage dispositions. These "sound-perception objects" allow the musicians to create a new relationship with the auditors, offering them new listening possibilities.