Helena Macherel

Swiss flutist Helena Macherel is a versatile musician who performs both as a soloist, as a chamber and orchestra musician in Europe and in the United States.
Among her notable projects, Helena Macherel played as a soloist with Zürcher Kammerorchester in Tonhalle Zürich, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Budapest Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, and shared the stage with François Benda, Cédric Pescia, Joel Sachs, Sine Nomine Quartet, and Terpsycordes Quartet. She is also a member of the Basilea Wind Quintet, based in Switzerland. In 2021, she recorded a new album with harpist Tjasha Gafner, « Dances for Flute and Harp », and plays the baroque flute with La Fontana Cantabile Ensemble since 2018.
Helena Macherel regularly plays as solo flute with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, and is a member of Verbier Festival Orchestra since 2021. In 2017 she was also engaged for a two year internship position with the Musikkollegium Winterthur Orchestra. She often performs with Lausanne Chamber Orchestra and has taken part in projects with The Juilliard Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. She played under the baton of David Robertson, Klaus Mäkelä, Jonathan Stockhammer, Charles Dutoit, and Michael Sanderling.
At the age of nineteen she won the Paul Streit Prize of the Concours de Genève. Over the years she was awarded 1st Prize of International Anton Rubinstein Competition Berlin, 3rd Prize of Maxence Larrieu International Competition (France), and 1st Prize of Jeunesses Musical International Competition Belgrade. She has also been supported by Leenaards Foundation, Friedl-Wald Scholarship and Pour-Cent Culturel Migros.
In 2020 Helena Macherel graduated from The Juilliard School in New York with Robert Langevin and has later received mentorship with Nolwenn Bargin at the Landeskonservatorium Feldkirch. At the age of fourteen she entered the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU) in the class of José-Daniel Castellon, and later studied with Silvia Careddu at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik Berlin.
In addition to her flute work, Helena Macherel has a passion for composition. She writes instrumental concertos and develops her style and expression through orchestral and chamber music works. She took composition lessons with William Blank at Haute École de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU).