Our Mission

SIM offers the unusual opportunity for serious music students to pair with master musicians in an environment devoted to exchange. SIM students interact in group settings which encourage student participation and questions, one on one in master classes, and in performance with their teachers. This setting provides not only musical instruction but allows students access to conversations about life as a working musician with experienced creators, often with decades of experience in life on the road, in recording studios, on stage, and in the classroom. This kind of access leads to an environment based in mutual exchange, less a formalized school, more a creative community.  The faculty assembled by Alessi, a highly recognized creative musician himself, reflects a commitment to giving students access to improvisors of the highest caliber such as Tim Berne, Geri Allen, Linda May Han Oh, Henry Threadgill, Branford Marsalis, Jason Moran, Bill Frisell, Steve Coleman, Joanne Brackeen, Ravi Coltrane,  Kris Davis and many others. 

Since 2001, SIM has held over 20 intensive workshop sessions for 800 students from all over the globe with a rotating instructor staff of the most creative improvisors from the jazz and contemporary music fields. The sessions include 2 masterclasses per day, ensemble coaching, a performance and 2 private lessons per week.   

SIM can truly offer an unequaled experience for students and faculty alike devoted to collaborative, creative music making and the pursuit of improvisation.