Conductor

Michael Hoffman has been conducting in Russia, The United States, The Republic of Macedonia, Denmark and Sweden. He made his professional debut with the National Radio and Television Orchestra of Macedonia where, after a single concert, he was immediately invited to conduct the remainder of the season including many live and taped broadcasts throughout Eastern Europe and North Africa. Mr. Hoffman also conducted and arranged for the Radio and Television Big Band during his eight-month stay.

Most recently, Mr. Hoffman has been conducting in Scandinavia as the Music Director of the Sinfonietta at the Malmö Conservatory of Music and the Music Director of The Malmö City Orchestra (Malmö Orkesterförening) where he increased orchestra membership by 20% and the listening audience by over 50% in a two-year period.
Mr. Hoffman has conducted Ensemble Ars Nova on both Sweden s and Denmark s National Radios and has conducted on their recording “Stefan Östersjö” - a Swedish Grammy winner for best classical CD, which was released in December 1997. He has also premiered a ballet, ”The Creation”, by Stefan Levine at the Malmö Opera.

In 1997, Mr. Hoffman founded Absolut Kammarmusik, a chamber orchestra based in Malmö, Sweden, of which is the Artistic Director and conductor. In 1998 he conducted Absolut Kammarmusik on Stefan Cooper s debut album “Meditation”, which he also produced.
One of Mr. Hoffman s most attractive assets is his familiarity with a wide variety of musical genres. His twenty years of experience as a trumpet player exposed him not only to the classical repertoire but to jazz, Latin and pop/rock styles. Now as a conductor, he welcomes the opportunity to conduct a Brahms Symphony one night and a “Broadway” musical or a big band the next. The idea of limiting himself to a single genre is incompatible with his ideals of being A well-rounded musicians as well as ignoring the contemporary musical climate.

Without flexibility the world of classical music dies, and while there is an absolute need for Mahler or Mozart specialists, most communities outside major metropolitan areas are clearly in greater need of one who can better bridge the gap between classical music and other genres that audiences are perhaps more familiar with.
Born in New York in 1962 of Dutch and American parents, Mr. Hoffman received a Bachelors Degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Southern California and Masters Degree in Conducting from Arizona State University. He has also studied trumpet and conducting at the University of Michigan, Studio Production at the Malmö Conservatory, Sweden and composition at S.U.N.Y. Purchase, NY. His teachers have included: (Conducting) Hans Beer, Henry Charles Smith and Dr. Richard Strange. (Trumpet) Boyde Hood, William Krinsky, Bo Nilsson, Edward Tarr, and William Vacchiano.


“When you see him move his baton with an amused smile, it looks like he has the whole orchestra in his hand and he can bring out the music, the enjoyment of playing, yes, harmony”