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What is Kalia?
A vision.
Kalia is a vision of the world in which guitarists can thrive. We dream of a world in which guitarists can work on their art and be properly supported both financially and socially. A world in which guitarists, especially those guitarists who feel alone, can share their art and their artistic reflections easily – not only with other professionals but also with the many passionate guitar amateurs who make up a capital part of the guitar community. A world in which amateurs have immediate and regular access to some of the best guitar performers in the world, via in-person concerts, masterclasses, and encounters. A world in which the beauty, delicacy and power of the guitar can flourish in lively communities of guitar-lovers all over the world.
A mission.
At Kalia, our mission is to make our vision a reality in the city of Geneva. Geneva is the current residence of an astonishing number of world-class guitarists. Through our concert series, we hope to showcase their artistry as well as provide regular events (masterclasses, discussions, conferences) through which the community of classical guitar enthusiasts in Geneva will be strengthened. Music is a great ground for friendship and fraternity, and we seek to organize events which will allow this basic truth to be made manifest.
We also hope to provide a financial support structure through which guitarists can realise their artistic projects. We hope to fund and promote the artistic activities of our artists, through grant proposals, fundraising, social media promotion, video production, and more. Orchestras provide great financial stability to their musicians. Guitarists need alternative structures through which they can not only fulfill their artistic dreams but also receive fair wages for the work that they do.
The Origins of Kalia
Kalia was born out of the “performance classes” led by Judicaël Perroy, professor of guitar at the Haute école de musique in Geneva. These weekly evening sessions, attended by many of Kalia’s future collaborators, began at 8pm and often extended late into the night. Students would perform repertoire in progress, transforming the classroom into a concentrated space of musical exchange, experimentation, and artistic bloom.
From these evenings emerged the intuition that this format contained a remarkable artistic and cultural potential that could resonate far beyond the studio walls. Opening these performances to a wider audience appeared as a natural extension—one that would not only address the perennial challenge guitarists face in finding spaces to perform, but also enrich Geneva’s cultural life. The Kalia concert series, inaugurated in September 2025, thus represents an evolution and expansion of Judicaël Perroy’s “performance classes,” carrying their spirit into the public sphere.
Our Values
Friendship and mutual support.
Music is a fundamentally social enterprise. Therefore, positive, encouraging, dare we say loving relationships are absolutely essential to our mission.
Beauty.
A musician who plays a concert with no conscience of beauty is like a doctor who conducts an operation with no conscience of the health of her patient. Artists hold a pivotal place in society because they bring beauty into the world – beauty which pleases our grumpy heart, which dazzles our sunken eyes, which attracts our loveless gaze, which shocks us out of our numb stupor, which renews our strength and our desire to live. Lest we ever forget about beauty.
Fair pay.
To be a professional musician (to perform a concert, to teach, to compose, to transcribe, to practice) is true work, and we value giving fair wages to our artists, even as we admit that doing so is, and has been since the beginning of civilization, exceedingly difficult.
Musical excellence.
The musical pursuit is fundamentally oriented towards excellence. Music is a striving towards mastery, perfection and transcendence. Therefore we value the endless upward grasp towards excellence through practice and self-development, and we hope to mutually encourage and help each other to progress towards that ever-receding goal.
Support our 2025-2026 concert series via TWINT, paypal or by sending us a bank transfer. Please contact us for more information, including our budget for the season.
If possible, please make your donation by bank transfer using the IBAN below, especially for large donations. Contact us for details.
Kalia Collective
IBAN CH75 0900 0000 1663 7523 3
Our team
We are dedicated to the flourishing of the world-wide guitar community and eager to share our passion for music with all.
