A Lifetime in Music
Larry Hoffman Music is the heart of a 50-year journey brought to
life —musician, educator, writer, producer, and composer.
I started my musical career in my teens as a self-taught folk singer/ guitarist in my hometown of Baltimore, MD, with a repertoire that included traditional folk, old-timey, ragtime, and blues.
In time, I wanted to learn more. My process went from serious self-study, to private teachers to traditional conservatory training---and now....
I have composed over 100 works, stemming from the small guitar pieces I wrote during my studies with Dennis Sandole. I have donated many of these scores over the years to Brown University, the Blues Archive at the University of Mississippi, and The Arthur Friedheim Library, which is part of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. I’m proud of this legacy, and continue to gift my new scores regularly. My music is also in the Library of Congress as part of copyright obligation.'
At last count, there are over seventy of my pieces on my YouTube Channel, with corresponding dates of uploading.
My You Tube Channel also features many of the songs that I played and sang during my performing career.
I am always proud to remind friends of my music that it is free and easy to subscribe to my You Tube Channel and get priority notice of all new works as they are posted. In recent months I have astounded some friends by producing one new score a week! My partial portfolio can be found also at the Baker Artists site.
Musicians! if you are interested in playing any of my pieces, please contact AfterClick Publishing, Inc. (ASCAP) at (410)446-5109 or email me at lh@larryhoffmanmusic.com
The Coffee Gallery, San Francisco; 1968
With Robin Cohn, harp / Atwater & Stir
With Martin Block, Bass / The Attic, San Francisco; 1968
Early Musical Career & Education
- First Gigs: At age 19 - completely self-taught- I had my first professional gig at the Blues Bag in Provincetown, Massachusetts, opening for Doc & Merle Watson, John Hammond, Skip James, Tom Rush, and The Jim Kweskin Jug Band --some of the most famous folk and blues acts of the day.
- San Francisco in the 60's: A year later, I left the University of Virginia where I was an English Major, and moved with my brother Bennett to San Francisco.
- The first night that we arrived , I played an open mic set at the iconic Coffee Gallery in North Beach. After the set , the club owner came over and surprised me-- tapping me on the shoulder, he said. “You're hired!" I became a regular performer at the club from then on.
- Eventually, I found other clubs to play and was gigging all the time, while jamming occasionally with outstanding musicians like Charlie Musselwhite,,,. Sonny Terry ,,Loudon Wainwright III, and Santana’s drummer, Michael Schrieve.
- Jazz and Classical Studies: Returning to the East Coast, I began my intensive jazz studies with legendary educator, Dennis Sandole, in Philadelphia. Dennis' students had included --among many others-John Coltrane, Pat Martino, Jim Hall James Moody and Rufus Harley.
- During this time I heard Brahms' 4th Symphony for the first time; and "It spoke to me!” I suddenly and surely believed,- after hearing it-that I was a composer, and hoped that one day I could actually become one. To this end, I sought out private theory lessons and, eventually-- at the encouragement of close friend and private theory teacher, the late Ray Sprenkle., I entered the Peabody Conservatory, where I earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in musical composition.
- I soon became a faculty member and eventually co-chairman, of the prestigious Theory Department of the Peabody Preparatory.
`Dennis Sandole
Gifting The King
Larry Hoffman B.B. King
B.B. was kind enough to give me three interviews for my notes to Mean Old World.
He was always humble and full of wonderful stories and ideas. He, indeed ,was King of the Blues. In return I was so pleased to give him a copy of the box set.
Tap the picture to listen the Music
Chimera Rag
Freight Train Variations
Old Time Music
Chimera Rag(String Quartet no.8) was my tribute to Scott Joplin, the great Ragtime composer. “Charming” was the term heralded ragtime performer and expert Ann Charters used to describe the piece.
Old Time Music
Freight Train Variations
Old Time Music
I played a lot of "old time music" when I was coming up, and incorporated that essence in my Woodwind Quintet no.14, entitled OldTimeMusic."
Freight Train Variations
Freight Train Variations
Freight Train Variations
Freight Train Variations (String Quartet No.6) is my tribute to the great folk -blues artist, Elizabeth Cotten, who composed and recorded ”Freight Train,” which she sang while accompanying herself on guitar. She was a lovely, talented artist whom I loved,, admired, and studied when learning guitar. I had the opportunity and great priv
Freight Train Variations (String Quartet No.6) is my tribute to the great folk -blues artist, Elizabeth Cotten, who composed and recorded ”Freight Train,” which she sang while accompanying herself on guitar. She was a lovely, talented artist whom I loved,, admired, and studied when learning guitar. I had the opportunity and great privilege of opening for Ms. Cotten --with my folk trio--when I was fifteen years old-- when she appeared in Baltimore..
Blue Mirror
Freight Train Variations
Freight Train Variations
Blue Mirror is a solo work for guitar that I composed to integrate traditional blues guitar into atonality- (a bold try to be sure!)
(It’s received over300 listens on YouTube!\]
String Quartet No. 1
THREE SONGS FOR BLUESMAN AND ORCHESTRA
String Quartet No. 1
My String Quartet No. 1: The Blues premiered at the
Smithsonian Chamber Music Series in Washington, D.C.
- The same String Quartet received its Chicago premiere in 2006 at the Cultural Center, and its European premiere in Sweden in 2008-- performed twice there, alongside a work by Wynton Marsalis.
Summer Sounds
THREE SONGS FOR BLUESMAN AND ORCHESTRA
String Quartet No. 1
Summer Sounds’,a work commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Chamber Music program, is my attempt to bring the sounds of baseball to the classical music stage. It was performed by wonderful players of the BSO.
THREE SONGS FOR BLUESMAN AND ORCHESTRA
THREE SONGS FOR BLUESMAN AND ORCHESTRA
THREE SONGS FOR BLUESMAN AND ORCHESTRA
A very exciting integration was THREE SONGS FOR BLUESMAN AND ORCHESTRA, a work commissioned by the Chicago Sinfonietta Orchestra. For this piece, I was to set three songs written by great Chicago bluesman John Primer to an orchestral environment. It
was performed twice in Chicago : first at Dominican University, and the next evening at
A very exciting integration was THREE SONGS FOR BLUESMAN AND ORCHESTRA, a work commissioned by the Chicago Sinfonietta Orchestra. For this piece, I was to set three songs written by great Chicago bluesman John Primer to an orchestral environment. It
was performed twice in Chicago : first at Dominican University, and the next evening at Chicago’s fabulous Symphony Center, (where I had heard the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform Brahms' Fourth Symphony numerous times.)
Another exciting work for orchestra is American Overture, in which I weave a number of American folk genres in the same orchestral work.
Blues for Harp, Oboe, and Violoncello
THREE SONGS FOR BLUESMAN AND ORCHESTRA
THREE SONGS FOR BLUESMAN AND ORCHESTRA
My chamber work, Blues for Harp, Oboe, and Violoncello was recorded and performed by members of the Cleveland Orchestra -- among them: world-famous artists , oboist John Mack, and harpist Yolanda Kondonasis.
• This work has enjoyed many performances since its premiere at the iconic Frick Gallery, played by by first chair players of the Pit
My chamber work, Blues for Harp, Oboe, and Violoncello was recorded and performed by members of the Cleveland Orchestra -- among them: world-famous artists , oboist John Mack, and harpist Yolanda Kondonasis.
• This work has enjoyed many performances since its premiere at the iconic Frick Gallery, played by by first chair players of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The trio performed it a second time at the Carnegie Museum of Art. To my knowledge, It was last- performed at the Breckenridge International Festival of the Arts in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Lynn Taylor Hebden
John Locke
Ron Becker
William R. Ferris
Barry Dolins
Paul Oliver Larry Hoffman
John Primer
The Chicago Sinfonietta
The Harold Washington Library; Chicago