Jazz Flute Club Night highlights expanded Hidden Valley master class seminar series.

The original idea was simple: a series of week-long residences where collegiate and post-collegiate musicians can eat with, attend master classes by, play with and hear concerts by top educators and players across a spectrum of instruments.

It worked out pretty well.

Now in its third decade, the Hidden Valley Master’s Festival is one of this area’s most prestigious educational and performance events.

Internationally renowned jazz flutist Ali Ryerson will open the event with her Jazz Flute Club Night, with tables, linens and candles transforming the Hidden Valley auditorium, creating a vibe not unlike an urban jazz club.

“Jazz is not as comfortable in the concert hall as it is in a club,” Hidden Valley Music Seminars founder and director Peter Meckel says. “So we thought we’d change it up. It feels like a club in New York or New Orleans.”

Another new twist this year involves Ryerson and classical flutist Keith Underwood, who will teach a joint two-day jazz and classical master class.

“Keith and I have dreamed of doing this for a long time,” Ryerson says. “The two worlds really do overlap. The more a jazz player knows proper classical technique, the better improviser they will be. And the more a classical player understands jazz and its approach to harmony, it makes for a stronger musician overall.”

Following Underwood’s week, additional master classes and concerts feature English horn, cello, oboe and bassoon.

This year the festival expands from six weeks to seven, as Emil Khudyev, associate principal clarinetist of the Seattle Symphony, adds a week-long residency. Emil is the brother of well-known local conductor Farkhad Khudyev, and Hidden Valley is excited about the addition.

“We got to know him shortly after his brother came here,” Meckel says. “I was blown away by him in concert. When he was given the position in Seattle, we knew it was time. He’s a gifted teacher and a fantastic player.”

While the concerts are memorable for guests and performers alike, the series remains focused on the master class concept: expert musicians teaching other high-level musicians. That instructional idea still guides the seminars.

“We wanted to have teachers who could actually do what they’re asking the students to do,” Meckel says. “They can demonstrate in a performance situation how classroom ideas actually apply to the stage.”

ALI RYERSON’S JAZZ FLUTE CLUB NIGHT 7:30pm Saturday, May 26. Hidden Valley Music Seminars, 104 W. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley. $25. 659-3115, hiddenvalleymusic.org