Norbert Moret was born in a farmers family in Ménières (Haute-Broye, Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland). He completed his undergraduate studies at the “Collège Saint-Michel” in Fribourg. He studied piano, theory of harmony and gregorian chants at the Fribourg Conservatory.

From 1948 until 1950 he lived in Paris where he studied under Olivier Messiaen, Arthur Honegger, Guy de Lioncourt and René Leibowitz. From 1950 until 1951 he trained with the orchestra and at the library of the Vienna Philharmonic under Wilhelm Furtwängler.

On returning to Fribourg he was appointed positions of conducting one of the church choirs of the town, teaching at the secondary school for boys and finally teaching instrumental music at the teacher training school from 1965 until 1982.

He won the prize of the Swiss Association of Musicians and the European prize for music. In 1990 he was awarded the “Doctor honoris causa” by the University of Fribourg.