Scott Silberstein

HMS Co-founder and Executive Producer

Scott Silberstein co-founded HMS Media with Matt Hoffman. He oversees development of HMS' broadcast and arts projects; and writes, produces and directs many of HMS' broadcast and online projects featuring Broadway shows and tours, Chicago theater dance and music organizations and other resident not-for-profit organizations.

Scott grew up in Cincinnati and is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania. He studied piano performance and composition in the ground breaking Baldwin Pathways program, becoming part of its first Master Class and earning the Jose Iturbi Piano Scholarship and merit honors from The Guildhall School of Music in London. His friendship with Matt Hoffman, whom he met at Camp Nebagamon in the summer of 1977, led him to eventually co-found HMS in 1988.

Scott has won 5 Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards been nominated for 10 more for writing and producing broadcast specials and original music music that have been seen and heard regionally and nationally. His producing credits include 25 YEARS ON THE EDGE (with Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, Joan Allen and the entire Steppenwolf Theater ensemble), DANCE FROM THE HEART (featuring Ben Vereen & The Joffrey Ballet), SECOND TO NONE (featuring Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch and Scott Adsit), EVERY DANCER HAS A STORY (featuring River North Chicago Dance Company), GETTING THERE (with Jump Rhythm Jazz Project), and JUST PASSING THROUGH (starring Julia Fordham, Shawn Colvin & October Project). His music credits include programs for PBS and NBC. He has been awarded four Chicago Dance Coalition Ruth Page Awards for various collaborations with more than forty dance companies, including three specials for public television. Scott has composed original scores for nearly two-dozen dance and theater pieces, including KIRA THE YOUNG HUNTER with Phil Collins.

Scott's producer/director credits for Broadway promotional video projects include MAMMA MIA, WICKED, JERSEY BOYS, THE COLOR PURPLE, COMPANY, HAIRSPRAY, PASSING STRANGE, A CATERED AFFAIR, EQUUS, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, THE SEAFARER, THE SEAGULL, ROCK'N'ROLL, A CHORUS LINE, LEGALLY BLONDE and SWEENEY TODD. He has also produced for a multitude of resident theater, dance and music companies including Lookingglass Theatre Company, The Goodman Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Guthrie Theatre, Roundabout Theater, Giordano Dance Jazz Chicago, Breakbone DanceCo., Goodspeed Opera House and Dance For Life.

Scott is a company member of Lookingglass Theatre Company, and serves as an advisory board member and production affiliate to several of Chicago arts non-profits, including Breakbone Dance Co., River North Chicago Dance Company, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Zephyr Dance Ensemble, Jump Rhythm Jazz Project and Audience Architects.

Matt Hoffman

HMS Co-founder and Executive Producer

Matt grew up in Glencoe, Illinois, just north of Chicago. His passion for music and television blossomed at New Trier East High School, where he was first trombonist in the jazz band and orchestra, and where he first began exploring the visual arts.

As a graduate of The Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, Matt developed an early proficiency for videography, editing and directing. Upon returning to Chicago, Matt quickly found himself in demand as a director, editor and videographer.

In 1990, Matt was awarded his first Emmy for directing WHY AM I HIDING, a groundbreaking documentary on rape and sexual assault hosted by L.A. Law's Susan Ruttan. In 2007, Matt won two Emmy Awards for directing and editing GETTING THERE, a dance performance documentary featuring Jump Rhythm Jazz Project, which aired to critical acclaim. Matt also has Emmy nominations for directing REALITY OF A DREAMER: THE RIVER NORTH DANCE COMPANY in 1994 and JUST PASSING THROUGH in 1996, and for his videography in RIVER NORTH RISING in 2000.

Matt's Broadway and national tour press-footage directorial credits include: HAIR, SPRING AWAKENING, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN THE MUSICAL, STOMP, RENT, GOD OF CARNAGE, EXIT THE KING, 9 TO 5, MY FAIR LADY, SHREK THE MUSICAL, WHITE CHRISTMAS, and THE WEDDING SINGER.

Matt supervises and directs HMS' major multicamera shoots for broadcast specials, including the newest HMS project, HANDEL'S MESSIAH ROCKS, which features a seven-camera high definition shoot for PBS broadcast, starring Tony Award winner LaChanze, conductor Keith Lockhart and members of the Boston Pops.

John Ford

Video Division Manager

John is a graduate of the Visual and Performing Arts school at Syracuse University. He began his career at WCNY-TV in Syracuse, owned his own video production company in Boston and was also a lighting director for the Christian Science Monitor Network. A longtime friend and collaborator of HMS Media founders Matt Hoffman and Scott Silberstein since 1984, John joined HMS Media in 1995 as Video Division Manager, and has worked on hundreds of productions, from Broadway shows (Hair, West Side Story) to corporate communications (Bridgestone/Firestone) to broadcast (Ellen).

John is a certified Steadicam operator, a tool he uses extensively in a wide spectrum of projects, and is featured in each of HMS' acclaimed dance specials. His camera work also has been seen on every major broadcast network, including press clips for a multitude of Broadway shows and tours.

John has been nominated for four Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards for his Steadicam and videography work, and continues to win the praise of clients and critics with his skilled and artistic approach to capturing the arts for television.

Kristin Klinger

Producer/Editor

Kristin’s love of documentary production and the arts were key reasons why she was so enthusiastic about becoming part of the HMS team, and why HMS jumped at the chance to invite her onto the team in summer of 1999. She has a degree in Radio/TV and French from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, where she began her television career at the local PBS affiliate, WTIU. There she had the opportunity to work in a variety of areas, from shooting to editing to directing live television.

Kristin joined HMS as associate producer and during her time with HMS has served as producer/editor for broadcast projects such as HMS' Emmy Award-winning series THE CHICAGO DANCE PROJECT, WTTW's ARTS ACROSS ILLINOIS, and most recently produced, directed and edited the Emmy-winning documentary CHICAGO CHILDREN'S CHOIR: SONGS ON THE ROAD TO FREEDOM, which followed the Choir's civil rights tour through the southeastern U.S., and aired on WTTW 11 in April 2008.

Her clients in the arts and entertainment realm stretch from L.A. to Broadway, with projects encompassing a diverse range of content – including commercials and other promotional materials, as well as short-form documentary and developmental pieces for nonprofit organizations. Recent clients include Broadway in Chicago, The Music Center/Performing Arts Center of L.A. County, SHN, Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL, DIRTY DANCING, ROCK OF AGES and MARY POPPINS. She continues to work closely with a wide range of dance and theater clients in Chicago, and serves on the board of directors of Mordine and Company Dance Theater. Kristin is thrilled to be celebrating her tenth year at HMS.

Catherine Hickman

Associate Producer

Catherine joined the HMS Media team in July 2007 with a strong background in independent film and arts management. A graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a concentration in the areas of producing and cinematography, Catherine has lent her creative vision and production skills to several independent shorts and graduate films. She has worn many hats on set, ranging from grip to camera operator to producer, and utilizes this diversity here on our team.

Catherine has a history in arts management with such companies as Propane Productions, LLC and The Arts and Business Council of Chicago, where her roles included both production and business management. Her time at the Arts and Business Council fostered a deep familiarity with regional arts organizations and collaborators, and the background and insights that make her an ideal producer for our broadcast and promotional projects with the arts.

Catherine's combined administrative and artistic skills are complimented by her passion for visual storytelling. She has produced several hour-long documentaries for Big Ten Network at Northwestern University, as well as various projects around the city for some of Chicago's most celebrated arts organizations, such as Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Ballet Chicago and Chicago Dancing Festival, to name a few. She's also created fun and compelling promotional pieces for the Broadway productions of SHREK and DREAMGIRLS, and the national tour of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.