General bio:

Hope Hoffman received her B.A. with honors in journalism and creative writing in 1998, along with minors in dance and cultural studies. She has been self-employed since 1999 as a performing artist and teacher. She writes and performs fiddle music, and has been teaching music since 2002. Known for her warm and personable performances including viola, guitar, ballads, storytelling and improvisational dance, Hope leads school programs and provides music for weddings and community events throughout New England. Hope also presented 14 original shows as writer, director and performer with the Town Hall Theater Group. As as choreographer and dancer, she has been studying and performing modern dance and ballet since 1980, presenting her choreography since 1993, and teaching since 1999.

Music bio:

Known for her warm and personable performances, fiddler and singer Hope Hoffman has been a professional musician and music teacher in Maine since 2001, providing imaginative charm and good old-fashioned fun for downtown festivals, restaurants, weddings, dances, and community gatherings. She is the director of the Free Grange Music Studio in downtown Bowdoinham, which offers music lessons in various folk instruments for ages 3 through adult. Hope's musical style and compositions are noted for their evocative beauty and rough-and-tumble playfulness. Her album of original tunes, "Infinite Winter Squash: New Maine Fiddle Music," was described by Maine fiddler Greg Boardman as "Pure New England fiddle music ... inviting, warm, energized and straight ahead, with a bit of mischief thrown in." Additional CDs include Hope's performances of Irish instrumentals and Maine contra and barn dances. Hope also sings in a country duet with songwriter Jim Tolles, and leads sessions of Parent-Child Creative Folk Dance with Live Music for children's museums, libraries, schools and festivals, featuring fiddle music, creative movement and folk dance.

100-word music bio:

Hope Hoffman has been a professional musician and music teacher since 2001, performing in concerts, restaurants, weddings, dances, and gatherings, and offering fiddle instruction for ages 3-adult in downtown Bowdoinham. Her CD of original dance tunes, "Infinite Winter Squash: New Maine Fiddle Music," was described by Greg Boardman as "Pure New England fiddle music ... inviting, warm, energized and straight ahead, with a bit of mischief thrown in." Additional CDs include Irish instrumentals and Maine contra and barn dances. Hope sings in a country duet with songwriter Jim Tolles, and leads sessions of Parent-Child Creative Folk Dance with Live Music.