[1][2] Hurst began his career as a writer and then his talent for composition was recognized while he was a student at Royal Conservatory in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
[3] At age 21, he became a professor of composition at the Peabody Institute located in Baltimore, and also worked and studied with Pierre Monteux while he stayed in America.
[5] Hurst acted as an associate conductor for the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Adrian Boult in the early 1950s.
[6] His conducting work with the BBC Northern included the first Manchester performance of Arnold Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder in February 1966,[7] and also the premiere of Thomas Pitfield's Concerto lirico for violin and orchestra.
[2][3] Hurst's recordings include Wagner operatic orchestral extracts with the New Philharmonia, The Planets with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, suites from King Arthur and Starlight Express by Elgar and English string music with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, and Elgar's First Symphony with the BBC Philharmonic.