Holly Hofmann

Known internationally since the late 1980s as one of the leading flutists in jazz, Holly Hofmann’s musical career has included associations with legendary artists such as Ray Brown, Frank Wess, Cedar Walton, and Kenny Barron, as well as a string of 13 critically-acclaimed CDs as a leader with band members such as Terell Stafford, Anthony Wilson, John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton, and her husband, pianist Mike Wofford. Originally from the Midwest with degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Northern Colorado, Holly settled in San Diego in the late 1980s. Not content with being just a performing artist and director many musical series, Holly has also been very active as a jazz educator, passing along her knowledge to hundreds of students in clinics at colleges and conferences internationally as well as through her role as a founding member of the faculty of the UC San Diego Jazz Camp. She has given particular focus to mentoring and encouraging young women, particularly women instrumentalists, to become involved in jazz. In sum, for all of the above reasons, Holly has more than earned the title of Jazz Hero both in the jazz community here in San Diego and across the country.