Jaques-Dalcroze was born in Vienna and raised in Switzerland. He trained as an actor with the Comédie Française; studied composition with Bruckner, Delibes and Fauré; wrote string quartets, violin concerti, and operas; performed as a concert pianist throughout Europe and North Africa; was appointed Professor of Harmony at Geneva Conservatoire at age 25; and collaborated with stage designer Adolphe Appia in ground-breaking theatrical productions at Hellerau in Germany.
As a theoretician and pedagogue he is recognised as one of the architects of modern Music and Arts Education. He devised the world renowned approach to Music Education known as Dalcroze Eurhythmics; wrote many books and articles on Eurhythmics and the Arts; composed hundreds of musical exercises for piano, chorus, etc.; and left an indelible mark on all who studied at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, Geneva.
Emile Jaques-Dalcroze taught many influential figures, such as Ernst Bloch, the Swiss-born composer; Marie Rambert, co-choreographer of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, and Director of Ballet Rambert, London; and Heather Gell, a pioneer of Arts Education in Australia.
