Humberto Scherhaufer Salvagnin was born in 1970 in São Paulo, Brazil.
He began piano studies in 1980 with Diva Gnecco and later he followed the classes of Rosa Corvino at the Municipal School of Music in São Paulo.
In 1993, he obtained a Superior Diploma in piano music at the University of São Paulo (UNESP) where he followed the teaching of Homero de Magalhães. Since 1984, he has participated in – and won – several piano competitions in Brazil. He also participated in Master Classes with Barbara Hesse Bukowska and Yara Bernette at the 17th Festival de Música de Campos do Jordão, Brazil.
In 1983, he began organ studies with Orlando Retroz, and later with Ary Aguiar Jr. At that time, he played in several churches in São Paulo and was appointed titular of the First Church of Christian Science and then of the Fellowship Community Church.
From 1996, Humberto Salvagnin settled in Geneva where he continued his organ studies at the present Haute École de Musique de Genève in the class of François Delor. In 1998, he obtained a Superior Organ Diploma and, in 2001, the First Prize for Organ Virtuosity. In addition, he obtained a diploma, with distinction, in counterpoint.
In 2002, he won the XXth Swiss Organ Competition and the International “César Franck” Competition in Haarlem, in the Netherlands in 2007. He also participated in several Master Classes with renowned organists, including Marie-Claire Alain, Lionel Rogg , Jennifer Bate, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, and Ludger Lohmann, etc.
Humberto Salvagnin leads an intense musical career at international level and appears regularly at recitals in countless concerts and festivals in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France, Poland, Netherlands, Slovakia, and Brazil. He also plays in chamber music groups of varied formations, notably with trombonist Francesco D’Urso, the Geneva Brass Quintet, orchestras (the Geneva Chamber Orchestra – OCG, the Pays de Gex String Orchestra, the New Orchestra de Genève – NOG, the Geneva State Harmony Orchestra – OHGe, etc.) or choirs (La Psallette de Genève, L’Ensemble Vocal de Neuchâtel, the Classical Choir of the Pays de Gex, Cercle Bach, Cantus Laetus de Genève, and the Ensemble Vocal Pierre de Lune, etc.). In Switzerland, he is the titular organist of the Sainte-Thérèse church in Geneva and one of the organists of the First Church of Christian-Science, also in Geneva. In addition, he is an organ teacher at the International Academy of Arts “Aida-Léman” in Gland. He is also Director of the concerts “Organ et Song” in Geneva.
In October 2019, he participated as a soloist with the Geneva State Harmony Orchestra, OHGe, on a highly acclaimed tour in Brazil, where they appeared in the main churches and theatres of several capital cities.
He has recorded CDs for the Doron label: a solo with a first world recording of Sonata no. 2 and Andantino by La Tombelle, another with concertos for organ and orchestra by Poulenc and Rheinberger accompanied by the New Orchestra of Geneva, and a third with a concert programme at Sainte-Thérèse’s church in Geneva.
Translated by Helen Morf