Mackenzie Hoffman

Director of String Studies
​​Master of Music in Violin Performance and Pedagogy

Hailing from Buffalo, New York; Mackenzie has been playing the violin since the age of 6. She began her studies with the Suzuki method as well as participating in a local fiddle group. Mackenzie earned her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and Music Education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. She graduated summa cum laude with honors in 2017. During her time at Crane, she was concert master from 2013 to 2017 under the baton of Maestro Ching Chun Lai, was an intern at the National String Project, won the school wide concerto competition in 2015, and won the Richard Stephans Chamber Music competition in 2015 and 2017. She was also awarded the Julia E. Crane Memorial Award in 2017 which is given to one student showing excellent promise in the field of music education.

After Mackenzie graduated from Crane, she pursued her Master of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Here she focused on developing her teaching philosophies and finessing her playing style. She’s played under the batons of Larry Radcliffe, Duaine Wolfe, Gary Lewis, and JoAnne Falletta, she been a member of the Orchestra of Northern New York, and the Boulder Philharmonic, and has played in a variety of venues across the United States and Europe including Carnegie Hall and Castillo di Duino in Italy. In her free time, Mackenzie likes to rock climb, camp, knit, and hang out with her two kitties while watching true crime television shows. Mackenzie is excited to be apart of the faculty at Orpheus and is looking forward to being an active participant in the Austin Music Scene.