Irwin Hoffman
was born in New York City on November 26, 1924. He studied at the Juilliard
School in the 1940s, and also studied at the Berkshire Music Festival at that
time. Hoffman was conductor of the Vancouver Symphony from 1952-1964. He was
then engaged as Conductor of the Chicago Symphony in 1964. Following the
withdrawal of Jean Martinon, described above, Irwin Hoffman was the "Acting
Music Director" of the Chicago Symphony during the 1969-1969 season. Hoffman
then became the first Music Director of the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony (later
named the Florida Orchestra), where he served for twenty seasons 1968-1988.
1987-2001, Irwin Hoffman was also Artistic Director of the National Symphony
Orchestra of Costa Rica. Irwin Hoffman then became Music Director of the
National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia in Bogota in 2000.
