Srđan Hofman (1944, Serbia) obtained the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in composition from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, with Stanojlo Rajičić. On two occasions he attended perfection courses abroad: in 1974 in Darmstadt, and in 1975 in Stuttgart and Cologne.

He is active as a composer, professor of composition, the founder and the chief of the Sound Studio of the Faculty of Music. He was engaged in theoretical work related to the issues of contemporary music.

The oeuvre of Srđan Hofman comprises numerous orchestral, vocal-instrumental, chamber, solo, choir and electroacoustic works, which, apart from the regular concert seasons, have been performed at the leading domestic and foreign festivals, such as: Music Biennale  Zagreb, World Music Day – Germany, World Music Day – Sweden and Festival of Electronic Art – Finland , World Music Day – Romania, Festival of Electro-AcousticMusic – Burge, BEMUS, etc.

Hofman sat on the jury at the international contests of Jeunesses Musicales, as well as for the Stevan Mokranjac award. He was one of the founders and the first selector of the International Composers’ Review program in Belgrade and the secretary of the national section of ISCM.

He received numerous awards – among others, the first prizes of the Composers Review for the works Concerted Music (1994) and Signs (1995), the award from the Serbian Composers Association and the Plaque of the Belgrade Art University.

What have I said? for mixed choir.

The composition was written on lines selected from poems “Why do I pray?” by Bai Hua, “I love this country” by Ai Qing, and “Stars and I” by Cho Shan, published in Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Poetry (publisher: Filip Višnjić, Belgrade 1994, author Xianghua Zhang, translated by Radosav Pušić). The composer used parts of the poems freely, he shaped their order, combinations and variations in accordance with his own vision of the musical tone.

What have I said? / Do I ever say anything? / What do I think? / Do I ever think about anything? / Why do I pray? / Have I ever prayed?    (Bai Hua)

When someone, / After several thousand years / On a deserted seashore / Finds a dried-out bone  / ————— My bone, / How will he know  / That it went through the blaze of the 20th century? (Ai Qing)

Night has a thousand, / And I only two, / Eyes. (Cho Shan)

Clouds are sailing, / Flowers / Spring / Path leads to… / Man yearns. (Bai Hua)