Marc Hoffman
Christmas Time
© 2006 K. Marc Hoffman (044801041640)
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Excellent Christmas collection featuring jazz, instrumental, vocal, and traditional songs and styles, plus two new songs by the composer.
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Marc Hoffman's music, whether symphonic, pop vocal or commercial, is known for its eclecticism. At times pastoral and reminiscent of the "Americana" of the mid-20th century, his concert works can also be quite dissonant. His popular music styles range from contemporary Christian to traditional Jazz, to synth pop.
Marc was born in Salisbury, NC, received a degree in composition from the North Carolina School of the Arts, and did additional study in film composition at USC. He minored in voice and piano. Prior to attending NCSA he studied voice, composition and piano at Pfeiffer University. He received a scholarship through the NC School of the Arts Foundation to spend a summer studying at The Dartington International Summer School of Music in Devon, England. His composition teachers have included Sherwood Shaffer, David Ott, Leo Arnaud, Neil Hefti, Bruce Broughton and Fred Steiner. He is a member of BMI and the American Composer's Forum.
Recent fim work includes composer and music director of "The Mill" for producer Ralph Singleton and director Grainger Hines. The film will be released in 2007.
Marc's Homeland for orchestra has been well-received over the past 15 years. The solo piano piece, "Middle Earth" was premiered in the U.S. by the composer. A U.K. performance followed by pianist Andrew Ball. Of the U.K. performance, The London Guardian said, "...the Hollywood impression's of Marc Hoffman's (piano work) made some pieces on the program seem stale and derivative." Three Figures In A Night Sky, a three-movement piece for symphonic band received it's premiere by the symphonic band at Baylor University. The piece has received performances by several other university ensembles as well.
Hoffman has also composed music for stage plays, (both musicals and background music for dramas and comedies), theater openings, weddings, modern dance, television and radio, and political campaigns.
Recent works include Cinema Suite, a series of movements for orchestra inspired by the film music of the 1920s - 1950s. The individual movements can also be performed separately. He has just completed a new work for opera singer, Teresa Moore.
His recordings include the newly released, Long Way Home, a collection of piano solos. The music is a blend of light jazz and Marc's unique style of composition and performance. Dream of God (2003) is a collection of original contemporary Christian songs. Arrangements on the CD consists of full orchestra with piano and some guitar, percussion, additional keyboards and hammered dulcimer. In addition, the CD includes new arrangements of several Christian "standards." Virillion, released in 1993 is a collection of electronic music featuring island rhythms and minimilistic techniques.
Also a noted lecturer, Marc's "Music Is..." is a fast-paced one hour talk/presentation comparing classical music form to the form of a three minute "pop" song. His presentation "On Film Music" is a brief history of film music and the mechanics of the art form.
2007 will see the release of two additional CDs including a collection of film cues, orchestral pieces, and chamber works, and a long-awaited CD of new standards and ballads including two new songs from the performer!
Also a performer, Hoffman does over 100 appearances a year including concerts, festivals, private engagements and church services. As a pianist and vocalist his repertoire is varied with both original compositions and standard repertoire.
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A different kind of Christmas Time
author: Gary DalkinNorth Carolina’s singer-songwriter-composer Marc Hoffman is a diverse artist, his releases ranging from jazz (the excellent Jazz) to the solo piano music of Long Way Home to the contemporary Christian songs of Dream of God. It is particularly to fans of this latter disc that Christmas Time will appeal, though the album should find a welcome home anywhere looking for a distinctively different Christmas platter. Central to Christmas Time is Marc’s tenor voice, here as adept at light modern pop / MOR styles as previous projects have been to the classical concert hall. Make no mistake, Hoffman is a high calibre musician able to turn himself to diverse genres. Here he has provided the orchestrations and arrangements throughout, as well as adding two new songs of his own. In addition he plays piano, percussion and keyboards, and is joined by his brother, Sandy on acoustic guitar. Meanwhile John Sharp and Gray Fallin, who also graced Jazz, respectively contribute polished electric guitar, bass guitar and mandolin, and drums. There is percussion from Carlton Jackson and Carrie Ezell contributes violin. The album opens with a brief take on Gerald S. Henderson’s ‘Jesus is Born’, Marc’s layered vocals making an effective introduction to an imaginative modern arrangement of the classic spiritual ‘Go Tell It On the Mountain’. An old song, perhaps over familiar, but a welcome change from traditional Christmas album fare, and Hoffman delivers it in joyful voice with due care to the lyrics, singing like he not only knows what the song means but that he means it too. Equally thought is given to ‘O, Little Town of Bethlehem’, which showcases Marc’s voice against plaintive acoustic guitar, while ‘Silent Night’ is presented in straight-forward fashion with voice and piano set against rather static and unconvincing synthesised strings. There are two instrumentals on the disc. ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ is treated to a relaxed instrumental jazz piano treatment accompanied by low-key percussion, while the Latin carol Good Christian Men Rejoice is remade into a little jazz jewel. Hoffman takes the unusually step of delivering his own captivating arrangement of the traditional African folk song, ‘African Noel’, and the disc ends with a wonderfully laid back and romantic roaring-fire cosy ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’. Hoffman delivers his finest vocal performance on the disc and it is clearly the best choice for a closing number. More like this and the disc could have been a Christmas classic. That said there are still two Hoffman originals to consider. The titular ‘Christmas Time’ deliberately evokes every traditional sentiment and cliché of the season, but does so to a memorable tune and seamless arrangement, never forgetting to lyrically recall the original reason for the season. Given the right break, which is to say the radio play, this could capture the Christmas mood and become a perennial favourite. The ‘Saviour’s Star’ is less immediately striking, a simple piano and voice ballad, but after a few plays has a way of lingering in the memory. Together the ten tracks comprise a fresh and attractive Christmas disc which retains both musical value – it never becomes over produced or unnecessarily slick and cloying – and the spiritual values of its title.