Masterclass with National Arts Club Fellow Michael Sarian

Explore improvisation as a form of real time composition and examine how musicians can expand their creative vocabulary.

Trumpeter, composer and National Arts Club Fellow Michael Sarian will be offering a masterclass exploring improvisation as a form of real time composition, examining how musicians can expand their creative vocabulary through experimentation and unconventional approaches to sound. Drawing on contemporary jazz and free improvisation, Sarian will introduce a range of extended techniques and alternative approaches to the trumpet, encouraging participants to move beyond familiar patterns and explore new sonic possibilities. Through guided exercises and collaborative exploration, participants will consider how gesture, texture, silence, and interaction can shape musical ideas, both individually and collectively.

The session emphasizes curiosity and the development of a personal musical language. The masterclass will conclude with a short performance by Sarian, demonstrating these concepts in practice through an improvised musical exploration.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their instruments as long as it doesn’t need amplification.