HFL164 Andrew Hitz

Andrew Hitz on Boston Brass, The Brass Junkies & TEM, Mentors, and Finding Creativity in the Pandemic
The host returns to Studio HFL interviews begun in 2017, thanks past sponsors and supporters, and introduces an interview with tubist Andrew Hitz. Hitz discusses navigating the pandemic while helping his first-grade son Nicholas in online Spanish immersion, his wife’s work as a middle school band director, and how stepping off the road after 14 years in Boston Brass led him to be a stay-at-home dad and later refocus creatively. He recounts how he joined Boston Brass via an emergency sub gig arranged through Sam Palafian, reflects on early musical immersion at Tanglewood, youth orchestra experiences, and meeting mentors including Palafian and Arnold Jacobs. He describes his passion for Phish (201 concerts) and parallels between musical intensity across genres. Hitz explains how his network and desire to keep collaborating with Lance LaDuke led to The Brass Junkies and later The Entrepreneurial Musician (TEM), and how business learning grew from social media and arts marketing interests while he remains selective about performing.
00:00 Welcome Back Updates
00:43 Sponsors And Supporters
01:43 Interview Kickoff Praise
05:24 Life In The Pandemic
06:23 Stay At Home Dad Shift
10:55 Spanish And Early Listening
12:10 Joining Boston Brass
16:48 Youth Orchestra Pressure
28:12 High School Band Reality
30:51 Meeting Your Heroes
33:55 Why Phish Matters
39:08 Phish Shows And Tickets
40:47 Empire Brass Origins
41:41 Meeting Sam Pilafian
42:36 Empire Brass Seminar
44:19 Inside Open Rehearsals
45:26 Rolf Intensity Story
47:32 Chamber Music Dynamics
50:25 Empire Performance Fire
51:12 Mnozil Brass Magic
53:22 Touring Life Reflections
54:53 Starting Brass Junkies
01:09:38 TEM Business Origins
01:14:02 Playing Versus Podcasting
01:20:27 Wrapping Up and Thanks