• exploring a variety of musical styles in which to improvise from Baroque to contemporary
• using existing harmonic frameworks to experiment with melodic ideas
• trying out different rhythmic patterns and grooves
• playing solo as well as improvising in different instrument combinations
• using non-musical stimuli such as art and nature
• the opportunity to discuss the many and varied aspects of improvisation

Key Staff

Course Director: Hilary Michael

Scottish violinist and saxophonist Hilary Michael studied with Richard Deakin (violin) and Martin Speake (sax) at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating in 2006 with a 1st class BMus (Hons). She then returned to the Academy for a 2-year Postgraduate Diploma in Historical Performance, studying the Baroque violin with Pavlo Beznosiuk. Whilst at the RAM she won the Mica Comberti Bach Prize, performed Mendelssohn’s Concerto in D minor for Violin and Strings with the Becket Ensemble and David Watkin, led the RAM Baroque Ensemble and was the winner of the 2008 Early Music Prize.

For the past 15 years Hilary has enjoyed a busy freelance career performing and recording all over the world with groups such as Dunedin Consort, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Orchestre Romantique et Revolutionnaire, the Avison Ensemble, the Gabrieli Consort, La Serenissima and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She has also been the Leader/Director of The Kellie Consort, a group set up by Tom Wilkinson to give music students and recent graduates experience in period instrument performance.

Alongside performing, Hilary has continued to work in Jazz education, most notably as the strings tutor on the Richard Michael Summer Jazz Course for the past 21 years. She is a regular visiting tutor to the Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra,  has taught on improvisation workshops for Making Music and was the woodwind tutor for “Mistakes Are Cool”; the Glasgow Schools Jazz Orchestra, for 7 years.

For the past 8 years Hilary has been a chamber music coach at St Mary’s Music School (where she was formerly a pupil for 3 years) with a focus on Historical Performance Practice. She also directs the Early Music Group and is part of the Jazz Faculty and teaches Jazz violin, Aural and Improvisation to the senior students.

Course Assistant: Anna Michels

Praised by critic David Smythe for her ability to “dance across the keys with spirit”, Anna Michels is a Scottish-Dutch pianist who combines her love of performing and teaching in a multi-faceted career.

Anna is a graduate of Maastricht Conservatoire where she studied a double Bachelor in Piano with Dr. Katia Veekmans, and Music Theory with Dr. David Lodewyckx and Inge Pasmans. During her time in the Netherlands, Anna was a prizewinner of international competitions, both as a soloist and chamber musician. These include prizes at the Prinses Christina Concours, the International Anton Garcia Abril Chamber Music Competition, the International Swedish Duo Competition, the Scando Vocallis Lied Duo Prize, and the Maastricht Concerto Competition.

Her passion for unearthing hidden treasures of the classical repertoire, with a focus on Scottish composer Ronald Center, has culminated in giving lecture-recitals internationally, including at the London International Piano Symposium and Musica Scotica Conference.

Born in Scotland, Anna began piano lessons at the age of seven, and studied with Professor Heather Slade Lipkin at the Junior Academy of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, before moving to St Mary’s Music School in 2013. There she made her debut concerto performance with Schumann’s Piano Concerto in the Edinburgh Music Festival Final, as well as winning the Director’s Recital Prize. She was a prizewinner of numerous national competitions, including the Rotary “Young Musician Competition”.

Anna is a recipient of the Cross Trust and was awarded the Falkirk Civic Trust ‘Young
Personality of the Year’. She is currently studying for her Master’s in Piano Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with Head of Keyboard, Aaron Shorr. 

Location and Facilities