HFL165 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