Bernard Hoffer
Bernard Hoffer | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 14, 1934 Zurich, Switzerland |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, conductor |
| Known for | The MacNeil-Lehrer Report ThunderCats SilverHawks |
Bernard Hoffer (born October 14, 1934) is a Swiss-born American composer laureate and conductor. He is best known for his work on 1980s cartoons such as ThunderCats and SilverHawks. He worked on several of Rankin/Bass's television series and specials. The music he developed for The MacNeil-Lehrer Report, used on the PBS NewsHour until 2015, was nominated for an Emmy Award. He has won six Clio Awards for his work on commercials. He has also conducted several musical shows, such as the ballets A Boston Cinderella! and Ma Goose.
Early life and education
[edit]Hoffer was born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1934. In his early years, he received musical training at the Dalcroze School in New York, then later studied composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, between 1953 and 1958.[1] After high school, he played for two years with New York's Warren Covington Orchestra, the Sammy Kaye Orchestra and the Buddy Morrow Orchestra.[1]
Career
[edit]From 1969 to 1976, Hoffman played for Phyllis Newsman, and for Melba Moore in 1971.[1]
In the early 1980s, he was tasked with writing the music for the television series ThunderCats. "When I got the assignment, I looked at the lyrics and wrote, essentially, what was a song to those lyrics," he said.[2] According to supervising producer Lee Dannacher, Hoffer wrote the theme tune in around three weeks.[3]
Hoffer worked as the arranger for the U.S. Army Field Band of Washington, D.C., and later became a freelance musician.[4]
In 2020, he composed the Violin Concerto No. 2, "Decapod".[5]
Filmography
[edit]- The MacNeil-Lehrer Report (1975)
- The Ivory Ape (1980)
- The Return of the King (1980)
- Circle of Two (1981)
- The Sins of Dorian Gray (1983)
- The Coneheads (TV special) (1983)
- ThunderCats (1985)
- The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (1985)
- SilverHawks (1986)
- The Wind in the Willows (1987)
- The Comic Strip (1987)
- The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (2006)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Lee, William F. (1984). People in Jazz. Columbia Lady Music. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-89898-358-6.
- ^ Subypowa (2015-12-25). Thundercats - The Music of Thundera. Retrieved 2025-04-17 – via YouTube.
- ^ Subypowa (2015-12-25). Thundercats - The Music of Thundera. Retrieved 2025-04-17 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Hoffer: Cosmic". Albany Records. Retrieved 2025-04-17.
- ^ New England Philharmonic (2020-01-06). Eric Nathan interviews NEP Composer Laureate Bernard Hoffer. Retrieved 2025-04-17 – via YouTube.
External links
[edit]| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
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- 1934 births
- Living people
- Swiss conductors (music)
- American male conductors (music)
- 21st-century American composers
- American male classical composers
- American classical composers
- Swiss emigrants to the United States
- Musicians from Zurich
- Eastman School of Music alumni
- 21st-century American conductors (music)
- 21st-century American male musicians
- 21st-century Swiss composers
- Composers laureate
- ThunderCats
- Swiss composer stubs