Off the Cuff

How does free improvisation work? Without a specified key or predetermined time signature, every option is on the table—and not a single note on the page. Short of mind reading, how does an ensemble of musicians spontaneously create a piece of music that is cohesive, moves listeners, and can even tell a story from beginning to end? For 20 years, pianist Pierre Hurel and his students have been exploring the endless possible answers in a workshop environment that prioritizes sincere expression and the confidence to trust one’s innate musicality. 

Close listening, clear communication, and other crucial performance skills are integral to the process, of course. What’s made the improv workshop so beloved for two decades, however, is Hurel’s “golden rule” approach to improvising: respect the creativity of others as you do your own.

Back in 2004, Hurel was teaching French at Boston Conservatory and cultivating a jazz performance career in the Boston area. Among his many fans at the time was Richard Ortner, then president of the Conservatory, and it struck Ortner as odd that Hurel was teaching French, not music. For his part, Hurel found it strange that the Music Division lacked an improvisation course. So, Hurel devised one, pitched it to academic leadership, and the Improvisation Workshop was born. 

Despite his jazz background, Hurel designed the course to be non-idiomatic, intended for classical musicians to develop their improvising skills without genre constraints. Typically, one person will begin with a simple idea and trust that others will join in—contributing a countermelody, a supportive rhythmic shelf, an underlying texture, or a contrasting element. 

Over the course of an improvisation, musicians may switch roles, take the lead, fall back, duet with a partner, solo eloquently, redirect the piece, knock things off course entirely, sow chaos, revisit an earlier motif, establish a mood only to disrupt it, play their instrument like a drum, play someone else’s instrument, or maybe not play at all. (Silence is always an option.)

“When you study improv, you start to understand the value of your opinion, your position, your outlook on things.” 
—Pierre Hurel

The Art of Conversation

Over the course of two decades, many students have told Hurel that they never really knew how to listen until they improvised with other musicians.

“When you’re used to playing from a score, you know that the violin is going to come in on bar 39, on the ‘and’ of [beat] two. It’s not a surprise,” he says. “When you improvise, you don’t know if the violin is ever going to come. And in what register? What note? How?” 

This unpredictability requires awareness beyond mere hearing. Improvisers have to identify the sound they just heard and the idea behind it—and then come up with a unique musical response in real time. Where scores are scripted dialogues, improvs are open-ended conversations. And like actual conversations, they work best when each speaker is engaged, genuine, and responsive to the thoughts of others.

“It’s very easy to have a conversation where you essentially go on automatic pilot. And you say all the right things, and you look surprised when someone says something a little bit surprising. But it’s just an act,” Hurel says. “I think that being sincere—especially in the arts—is really important.”

"Creative Intuition, Sonically Manifested"

Hurel wants the improv workshop to be, first and foremost, a place for students to express themselves without reservation. Many who have taken the course consider it a highlight of their Boston Conservatory studies for this very reason. In fact, it’s common for students to repeat the class for credit, semester after semester. The record is nine times, Hurel says.

Bass trombonist Ben Pilon (MM '26, BM '24) has taken the class twice so far. Its weekly meetings offer a welcome break from practicing standard repertoire. “So much of the time we get bogged down by trying to create these virtuoso lines that it almost feels like being a technician in a way, operating your instrument,” he says. “And I feel like Pierre really brings out that you are an artist first.”

In the workshop, virtuosity takes a back seat to personal expression, Pilon says. This relieves some of the pressure to play with dazzling technique but still results in a strong sense of accomplishment by the end of the performance. “You don’t even have to be showy to really reach someone on a deeper level, which I think is our goal all the time as musicians.”

Alum Laura Bibbs (BM '19, trumpet), who took Hurel’s workshop “at least five times,” says the course was “really imperative” to her career path (which recently led her on North American and European tours with pop star Harry Styles). Bibbs believes that improvising is “creative intuition, sonically manifested.” Tapping into that intuition sparked more meaningful collaborations with her peers—and a newfound admiration for them.

“You know that your colleagues are great musicians, but I think there’s seldom moments where you get to see them explore their own creative minds,” she says. “That is inspiring to see, and Pierre does an amazing job at facilitating that.”

The Confidence to Connect

When navigating an improvisation, students are continually exposed to new and unexpected musical scenarios. Knowing how to respond is a matter of experience and taste, but it also takes a high degree of confidence, which Hurel painstakingly helps students build.  

“Maybe one of the most relevant changes that you notice in students taking the course is that it allows them to trust their ability to make choices,” he says. “When you study improv, you start to understand the value of your opinion, your position, your outlook on things.” 

Improvising can feel like an adventure when approached with self-assurance. But for some students, the thought of “winging it” can be scary at first. Hurel tells them that if they stay relaxed and don’t overthink things, the music will come. “You have played so much music, you have heard so much music,” he says. “If you give yourself license to pick up your instrument and just play freely, you will be able to do it.”  

Clarinetist Alainna Pack (BM '25) is currently enrolled in Hurel’s workshop for the seventh time. Above all, she says, the class has built confidence in her identity as a musician. Growing up, she consistently performed well in school bands and easily handled the repertoire she was asked to play. But improvising taught her to think for herself musically and to know that no matter what happens over the course of an improvisation, she will have an idea ready.

“There’s something about this class that kind of unlocked another part of my brain—I was able to say, ‘Hey, I do understand music.’ And that just is so affirming,” she says.

Pack adds that it’s cathartic to play freely in the workshop without fear of making a mistake. “In improv, I can just pick up the clarinet, and whatever happens, happens. Pierre has created such a comfortable environment that I never feel like I could do something wrong,” she says. “He honestly has changed my life.”

That sense of fearlessness (Hurel would call it self-love) leads not only to braver performances but also to stronger collaborations among artists. “Once you have really accepted yourself, you play far better with others,” he explains. “You connect better with others.”

This definitely was the case for Bibbs throughout her workshop experience. With each new semester, she says, the roster of classmates would change, but the feeling of connection persisted. 

“You feel locked in with these people because you’re sharing some of the most intimate thoughts that you have, and I think that naturally bonds people,” Bibbs says.

The Improvisation Workshop will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a free concert on March 9 at 6:00 p.m. in Studio 106 at 132 Ipswich Street, Boston. 

READ: STAGES 2025

“Off the Cuff” first appeared in the 2025 issue of STAGES, Boston Conservatory’s annual magazine.