Ambassadors Frank Martin Foundation
In 2025 we introduced six ‘ambassadors’, invaluable of the Frank Martin Foundation.
It gives us great pleasure to introduce you to them.
• Conductor and artistic director of the Odyssée Frank Martin
As a leading expert on Martin’s music and an inspiring conductor, Thierry Fischer’s value for the Frank Martin Foundation cannot be overestimated. He is a prominent ambassador of the composer’s music in and beyond Geneva – not only through his role in the Odyssée Frank Martin, but also as musical director of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León. (photo: Marco Borggreve)
Alain Corbellari | Neuchâtel, Switzerland
• Professor of French Medieval Literature at the Universities of Lausanne and Neuchâtel
‘After commencing my career as a composer, I went on to study literature and musicology, through which I became a member of the academic world. My work has focused on the history of medieval studies and the reception of medieval culture in modern times. By setting Joseph Bédier’s Roman de Tristan et Iseut to music, Frank Martin played a decisive role in my vocation, for it was this work [Le Vin herbé, ed.] that led me to write my thesis on Joseph Bédier, on whom I have become the international specialist.’
‘Frank Martin is my favourite 20th-century composer. His instantly recognisable style, which blends modality, chromaticism, and dodecaphonism with a sincerity and expressive power which I find unrivalled, represents for me one of the most accomplished responses to the challenges posed by modern music.’
Sean Hickey | New York, USA
• Composer, Managing Director of Pentatone Music
Sean Hickey studied jazz guitar at Oakland University, later graduating in composition and theory from Wayne State University. He moved to New York for further study and continues to live there. His oeuvre includes a symphony (Olympus Mons), concertos for clarinet, cello and mandolin, two string trios, a string quartet, a flute sonata, a woodwind quintet and trio, numerous pieces for solo instruments, church, theater and orchestral music. Sean Hickey is also active as an arranger, contributing arrangements for various artists and ensembles in the pop and jazz music spheres. He was composer-in-residence with the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, and the Metro Chamber Orchestra in New York.
Sean Hickey is the CEO of Pentatone Music, one of the largest independent global classical labels.
David Wordsworth | West London, UK
• Pianist, choral conductor, writer, teacher and publisher
‘The words that have always summed up the music of Frank Martin for me are craftmanship, sincerity and spirituality. It is almost impossible to pick one favourite work, though his Mass for double choir would come high on the list, simply because I know that work the best, both as a singer and conductor. However, I feel very strongly about the later sacred works too, particularly perhaps the Requiem – whose austere beauty strikes me as being very special indeed.’
I’m happy to be an ambassador for the Frank Martin Foundation – the name Frank Martin is often just a name even amongst musicians, and I would like to see that change in an era that sees spiritual/sacred music having as high a profile as anything else, appreciated by audiences of deep faith and none.’
Daniel Rubinoff | Toronto, Canada
• Multi-instrumentalist, scholar, church musician and composer
‘As a musician I relish the diverse life. In a typical week, I might be performing a saxophone recital, conducting a choir, sketching out a choral composition or working with older adults in a falls prevention programme that I developed, based on my study of Dalcroze Eurhythmics.
My interest in Frank Martin began two decades ago when I was in New York and enrolled in a Dalcroze Eurhythmics course at the Juilliard School. My mentor Robert Abramson suggested that I study the works of Martin, who, in his mid-thirties, enrolled in Émile Jaques Dalcroze’s Institute in Geneva.
The resulting interaction between Dalcroze and Martin fascinated me, and I began delving into other works that Martin composed long after he graduated from the Institute. I found a composer whose individuality, power, language and diversity is unique – yet still underappreciated.
The Frank Martin Foundation has accomplished a great deal in the promotion of our champion. In the future, we should continue to support innovative ways of celebrating Martin’s creative genius, through technology, live events and discussions. Further, we should take a broad view of Martin’s role in the study of creativity, so that future generations may find inspiration for their journey.
‘Et la vie l’emporta poetically expresses the relationship between music and the nature of life itself.’
Lance Phillip | Bloemfontein, South Africa
• Lecturer, choral conductor and composer
‘I have worked as a lecturer in the Odeion School of Music since 2009. I am a choral conductor and composer, and have been involved in (Anglican) liturgical music since 1983.
I am passionate about choral music, especially sacred music.
Frank Martin’s music has a spiritual quality – even his concert works are imbued with a yearning and lyrical quality. My favourite work is the Mass for double choir. The form, tradition and architecture of the Mass are immediately recognisable, grand, inspiring and comforting.’
‘To hear Martin’s Mass is to intrude upon an intimate, personal, and heartfelt confession of faith.’