Irwin Hoffman

American conductor Irwin Hoffman was born in New York City on 26 November 1924. He studied at Juilliard and with Serge Koussevitsky at Tanglewood. He first conducted at the age of eighteen, with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Positions included music director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (1952-64), various positions with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1964-70), first music director of the Florida Orchestra (1968-88) and music director of, respectively, the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra (2003-4) and the Costa Rica National Symphony Orchestra (1987-2001).

He also conducted the Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra in Chile, at the Grant Park Music Festival, and with the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Irwin Hoffman died on 19 March 2018, aged ninety-three.