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