The Verbier Festival is an international classical music event that takes place each summer in the mountain town of Verbier, Switzerland. The Festival’s mission is to build a community of exchange between great masters and young artists from all over the world and to be a leader in its field by providing meaningful music education programmes.
Launched in 1994, and now globally renowned, the Festival welcomes audiences with a distinctive and exhilarating blend of events, both large-scale and intimate. Audiences from around the globe come to experience music-making at the highest level in a setting that brings them close to star performers, rising talent and a complete process of learning, rehearsal and performance.
The Festival’s Academy and Orchestra programmes are its respiratory system—a talent incubator where future talents are discovered and nurtured. These programmes set the gold standard for training of emerging soloists, chamber and orchestral musicians, singers and conductors. Each summer, audiences witness these musicians in action at more than 100 masterclasses, rehearsals and performances. The Verbier Festival Orchestra has become a rite of passage for today’s exceptional young orchestral musicians and the Academy’s programmes for soloists, chamber musicians and singers include an impressive list of alumni from over 60 countries who have been engaged by the world’s leading concert presenters since their time in Verbier.
The Festival’s third pillar, UNLTD, is a creative laboratory that awakens curiosity for music across genres and generations. Throughout the year, and during the summer when it is dubbed a ‘Festival within the Festival’, UNLTD offers a programme of music awakening through imaginative concerts, workshops, talks and immersive experiences that transcend musical boundaries.
board of directors
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe
President
Jean-Albert Ferrez
Vice President
Patrick Aebischer
Member
Catarina Amon
Member
Blythe Teh Engstroem
Member
Martin T:son Engstroem
Founder & Director
Patrice Feron
Member
Christophe Maret
President, Commune de Val de Bagnes/VS
Vincent Michellod
Member
Dietmar Müller-Elmau
Member
Patrick de Preux
Member
François Reyl
Member
Julien Schoenlaub
Member
Julien Tron
President, The Friends of the Verbier Festival
Jean-Baptiste Vaudan
Member
Julien Vaudan
Member
Hervé Boissière
Permanent Guest, Ex-officio
board committees
Chairman’s Committee
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe (Chairman)
Martin T:son Engstroem
Jean-Albert Ferrez
Christophe Maret
François Reyl
Julien Schoenlaub
Julien Tron
Hervé Boissière (Permanent Guest, Ex-officio)
Benjamin Ruey (Secretary)
Stephen McHolm (Ex-officio)
Audit Committee
Jean-Albert Ferrez (Chairman)
Patrice Feron
Jean-Baptiste Vaudan
Julien Vaudan
Hervé Boissière (Permanent Guest, Ex-officio)
Pascal Mottier (Secretary)
Institutional Relations Committee
Christophe Maret (Chairman)
Patrick de Preux
Philanthropic Giving & Sponsorship Committee
François Reyl (President)
Patrick Aebischer
Martin T:son Engstroem
Vincent Michellod
Julien Tron
Hervé Boissière (Permanent Guest, Ex-officio)
Marina Gross (Secretary)
Stephen McHolm (Ex-officio)
Cultural Center & Strategic Development Committee
Julien Schoenlaub (Chairman)
Patrick Aebischer
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe
Martin T:son Engstroem
Patrick de Preux
Dietmar Müller-Elmau
Jean-Baptiste Vaudan
François Reyl (Permanent Guest)
Hervé Boissière (Permanent Guest, Ex-officio)
Benjamin Ruey (Secretary)
Stephen McHolm (Ex-officio)