Born and raised in Maryland, Dave Hoffner began his musical journey at the age of five, learning to play the piano and ukulele, followed by the guitar and banjo in subsequent years. By his teenage years, he had formed a country-rock band and supported himself through college as a church organist and by performing in bars around Baltimore. After graduating, Hoffner relocated to Nashville, where he spent the entire 1980s touring extensively. During this time, he served as the pianist and songwriting partner for pop/country artist Michael Martin Murphey, contributing to the creation of songs on thirteen of Murphey's albums.

As a featured instrumentalist, Hoffner has collaborated with various symphony orchestras across the country and has made appearances on prominent television shows including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, Austin City Limits, Nashville Network, Merv Griffin, and Hee Haw. His performances have also graced major venues in Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe, and he has shared the stage with notable acts such as Alabama, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Dwight Yoakam.

After a decade and over a million miles spent on the road, Hoffner decided to retire from touring to focus on recording and composing. His contributions to Murphey's albums established his reputation as a sought-after session musician in Nashville, where he has played keyboards and crafted string arrangements for both chart-topping and Grammy-winning projects across a diverse array of artists.

In addition to his session work, Hoffner is a prolific composer, co-writing the song for the "Lonesome Dove" television series and the theme for Time Warner's ten-hour documentary "The Wild West." His instrumental music has been featured on various television programs, including Good Morning America, 20/20, Saturday Night Live, Dukes of Hazzard, National Geographic TV Specials, and in the film "End of Days," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gabriel Byrne. Two of his orchestral pieces were recorded by the San Antonio Symphony, and he received a National Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Achievement in Music" for his score for National Geographic's "Braving Alaska."

In 1999, Hoffner co-wrote and co-produced the experimental album "Back Tuva Future" for Warner Bros., collaborating with Tuvan throat-singing master Kongar-ol Ondar. This album was recognized as one of the "Top Ten CDs of the Year" by the New York Post, and the single "Tuva Groove" reached #14 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music chart.

Most recently, Dave Hoffner composed and produced the original musical score for the two-hour biographical film "Billy Graham, God's Ambassador."