Chris Van Hof
Associate Professor of Music Performance (Trombone)
A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Chris Van Hof is the assistant professor of trombone at Ball State University and an active freelance trombonist in a variety of styles. He also is the trombonist and arranger in the Emerald Brass Quintet and the assistant manager of the International Trombone Festival. He is an official performing artist for S. E. Shires Custom Brass Instruments.
Chris' work at Ball State includes teaching undergraduate and graduate students in applied trombone lessons, conducting the Cardinal Trombone Choir, coaching chamber music, and currently serving as the Chair of the Ball State Faculty Council. He has taught at Ball State since 2017, previously having taught at Colorado State University, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and Nazareth College. He has been a guest presenter, teacher, and performer for events including the 2018, 2019, and 2021 International Trombone Festivals, the 2018 American Trombone Workshop, the 2017 and 2021 Panamanian Trombone Workshop, El Sistema’s 2nd Trombone Festival in 2020 (Venezuela), Rekkenze Brass Week in Bavaria, Germany in 2019, and Urubrass in 2020 (Uruguay). He teaches in both English and Spanish.
As a freelance performer, Chris is fluent in a variety of musical vernaculars. Recent engagements have included the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Los Adolescentes Orquesta (salsa), Kanola Band (traditional New Orleans), and various one-off engagements throughout Indiana and Michigan. As a soloist, Chris has recently been a concerto soloist with the Eastman Wind Ensemble and the Ball State University Symphony Orchestra, as well as presenting solo recitals throughout the Midwest. His trombone duo Make More Noise (along with bass trombonist Evan Conroy) has commissioned ten new works for tenor and bass trombone duo since 2018, and recently performed a full recital of their material at the 2021 International Trombone Festival in Columbus, GA.
Chris studied at Western Michigan University with Steve Wolfinbarger for his bachelor's, at the Eastman School of Music with Mark Kellogg for his master's, and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Mark Hetzler for his doctorate. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife Andrea and their two boys Dexter and Fritz.