Trombonist, Educator, and Arranger Chris Van Hof is a Rochester NY-based musician. With undergraduate degrees in Music Ed and Trombone Performance fro
m Western Michigan University (2006), and a Master's Degree from the Eastman School of Music (2008), Chris performs, writes, and teaches throughout the Western New York region. Chris can be heard playing principal trombone on the Eastman Wind Ensemble's 2009 CD release with the Canadian Brass, entitled "Manhattan Music." In addition, he has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, The Syracuse Chorale Orchestra, Mercury Opera Theater Rochester, the Rochester Broadway Theater League, TWENTY21, and with his own groups the Emerald Brass Quintet and the PoBoys Brass Band.
As an educator, Chris is on the faculty of Nazareth College in Rochester, NY, and maintains a private studio. He has presented lectures for Eastman's "Gibbs Street Connection," and regularly coaches low brass sections for summer marching band camps.
Chris' arrangements have been performed by the Syracuse Symphony, the Eastman and WMU Trombone Choirs, Eastman New Jazz Ensemble, Emerald Brass Quintet, WMU Jazz Orchestra, WMU Gold Company, and various student chamber groups at ESM. 2008 saw Chris' first commission as a composer: he completed a set of two tangos for middle school band, and a setting of "Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven" for high school orchestra.
Chris is also the Afternoon Drivetime Host for WXXI Classical 91.5 in Rochester. Classical 91.5 is a 24-hour Classical Music station. You can catch Chris' broadcasts every weekday from 2PM-7PM at www.wxxi.org.
Chris enjoys running, the Detroit Tigers, college sports, and Bell's Beer from Kalamazoo, MI. He lives with his wife, Andrea, in Penfield New York.