The Board of Directors of the International Trombone Festival is excited to announce that the 2019 ITF will be held at:
Ball State University, Muncie Indiana
Festival Host: Dr. Chris van Hof
A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Chris Van Hof is the newly-appointed Assistant Professor of Trombone at Ball State University. Chris leads an active and varied career as a performer in all styles on the trombone and euphonium; a teacher and clinician in brass, chamber music, and jazz; and a writer and arranger of music for ensembles from trombone choir to symphony orchestra. He has recently performed solo recitals and given master classes in California, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Colorado. He is currently the auxilliary/extra trombonist with the Fort Collins Symphony (CO) and the Cheyenne Symphony (WY) and has been a substitute performer with the orchestras of Madison, WI, Rochester, NY, and Southwest Fla. as well as the acclaimed Boulder Brass in Colo. He recorded two albums with the funk band the Po Boys Brass Band that also included many of his original compositions. He co-founded the Emerald Brass Quintet and still performs with that group throughout the United States. He has played in big bands backing up Johnny Mathis, Slide Hampton, Stefon Harris, Clay Aiken, and Frank Sinatra, Jr. He was principal trombonist on the Eastman Wind Ensemble’s 2008 recording collaboration with the Canadian Brass called Manhattan Music. He has performed as a chamber musician throughout Europe at venues in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Finland. From 2008-2011, he was the Afternoon Drive-Time host of the all-classical-music radio station WXXI Classical 91.5 in Rochester, N.Y. And he has been an associate producer for recordings by artists including flutist Michelle Stanley, tubist Stephanie Frye, euphoniumist Matthew Mireles, and the Madison, Wis.-based Isthmus Brass. Chris has previously taught trombone at Colorado State University, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and Nazareth College (Rochester, NY). He is proud to be an endorsed Performing Artist for Boston-based S.E. Shires Custom Brass Instruments as well as Castle Rock, Colorado-based Facet Mutes.
