About the Composers

Julianne Andrade has been playing since the age of three. As a long time student of Robert Hitz, she has performed in several events, especially the Family to Family concert series. She is very creative, not only loves to play piano, but also loves to write music and poetry and paint. She loves to combine different mediums like computer design, and video editing into her music, writings and painting.

Roberto is a physician specialized in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is passionate for the arts in all forms and shapes and enjoys his daughter's (Julianne Andrade) creativity very much and supports her 100%. He was very happy when she picked him to read her piece for the 2009 concert.

Delia has been singing ever since she was a little girl lip-syncing to her big sister's "Sound of Music" soundtrack.  Around that time, she also took up piano and flute.  Although the flute has since fallen on hard times, her love of the piano endures through adulthood.  This new venture into song-writing was born four years ago when Robert Hitz's musical "doodling" inspired a story that demanded to be told.  Collaborating with Robert on these musical creations continues to be a richly rewarding experience.

Felicia has been playing the piano for over 14 years, and began studying with Robert Hitz in the Summer of 2007. She enjoys classical, jazz, gospel, hip-hop, classic rock, pop, and R&B music. She composed her first original composition for the Family to Family Concert in 2007, and has created a new piece of music each year since. She enjoys incorporating fun rhythmic passages with dynamic melodic phrases to provide her listeners with an invigorating musical experience. However, most of the time when she is finished composing, she only wishes she could play the piece that she wrote! If you listen closely, you will hear a small snippet of her previous piece in the one that follows it.

Sean has been playing piano since pre-school and while his parents may have needed to push him earlier, he couldn't be happier to have stuck with it. This is the third family to family concert Sean will be playing in and he looks forward to many more. He is currently attending the University of Maryland, majoring in both Political Science and Philosophy.

Has been playing piano since age five, playing primarily classical music. After taking a break from music studies in middle school, she began taking lessons with Robert Hitz who has taught her how to create piano arrangements to popular music. Her first composition was for the Family to Family concert in 2006. Since then, she has composed and arranged pieces for that concert each year. She is currently studying Indian music theory and has composed a piece in that genre.

I've been playing and listening to music ever since I was born. My piano career began when I was 6 years old, followed by drums, guitar, and bass. My musical interests are vast, yet I am still selective of genres. My current favorite genre is Industrial Metal, which is a mixture of Heavy Metal and Electronica. My ambition with music is to either be a live musician, or a producer.

Randy has been playing piano for over 23 years now.  Like many, he began at an early age - tired of it - and then picked it up again in his late teen years.  The past 23 years he has been proud to call Robert Hitz his teacher and friend.  Randy has been an instrumental part of the Family to Family concert series.  He not only performs, but is also the executive director for the concerts, the sound engineer for the music CD, website designer, and artwork designer.  His passion for music has been a significant factor in the continued contribution to the concert series.

Kristen started taking music lessons with Robert Hitz a little over 2 years ago when her favorite piece to play was Yankee Doodle.  Today, she thoroughly enjoys creating new melodies and "tinkering" with them until a new piece is developed.  In the future she would like to go back to school and obtain a degree in music, take voice lessons, and play the guitar (but not necessarily in that order).

I am delighted to be working with such a delightful group of developing musicians and artists. The Family to Family Concert Series has been a great pleasure to produce and a marvelous showcase for their newest projects. Assisting the Family Crisis Center in their mission to help the women and children of our community is a great way to offer the gift of music. I am especially pleased by the team that has come together to put everything together!

Elizabeth has been singing and performing all her life.  The 2008 Family to Family concert marked her first foray into performing her own music. Since then, she and Robert Hitz have written about half a dozen pieces for piano and voice and she hopes to record several of them soon.  Check out some of her music at www.reverbnation.com/elizabethkanner.

Zachary Kaufman - Is a baseball fanatic/player, a fifth grade student at Rockburn Elementary School, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. A piano player since he was five, Zach is thrilled to be able to help the children of Haiti.

Casey has been playing the piano since the age of 3 and has been taking lessons from Robert Hitz for only a few months.  He loves to sing and write music and hopes to go to college for Music Composition.  In addition to this he loves to play soccer and lacrosse and enjoys being in plays for local theater and school as well.  Recent productions include Altar Boys at Carver Center and Les Miserables at Children's Playhouse of Maryland.  He is highly influenced and obsessed with Mozart.  He has written songs for piano, voice and other instruments.

Abigail had been taking piano lessons from Robert Hitz since four. Her favorite activities are dancing (with the Moving Company), reading, playing piano, singing (with CCM), and learning Math.

Jonathan Miller is primarily a guitarist and a classical singer. He has been playing guitar for ten years and has been singing classically for three years. He has recently begun taking piano lessons with Robert Hitz. Music is Jonathan's greatest passion. He hopes to become a composer, and plans to study composition and music theory in college. Jonathan is 17 years old, and currently a rising senior at Carver Center for Arts and Technology, where he studies classical voice.

Brandon Montell is a junior at Pikesville High School and has been playing piano for 11 years, starting lessons with Robert Hitz in 2009. Aside from playing and composing for the piano, Brandon also enjoys playing a number of other instruments, including saxophone and accordion, and doing martial arts. He is very happy to be a part of this concert and would like to thank everyone who has helped make this possible.

Gregory has been a flautist for 3 years, always dedicated to be the best he can. Recently, he began playing the piccolo as well, and plays piccolo parts in the Greater Balt Concert Orchestra. He will audition for the Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestra next season. Gregory is homeschooled and attends CCBC Essex, where he will become a full time music student. Eventually, he plans to transfer to Peabody, Julliard, or The Royal Academy of Music in London to study flute, piccolo, piano and more. Gregory also enjoys working with and studying computers. He currently takes flute/piccolo lessons with Janet Muller and piano/composition with Robert Hitz.

Ever since Sesame Street encouraged him to "Sing", Matt has been belting out or crooning away at any and every song that he can...and maybe a few he can't. Matt is thrilled to be performing in this year's Family to Family Concert and honored to be asked to contribute to a worthy cause.

Mumbi has been playing piano since the age of 6. She loves singing, dancing, drawing and reading. She wants to be a singer and lawyer when she grows up.

Amy has been playing piano since she was very young, but has only recently been introduced to improvisation and composition. She currently teaches music at the Lab School of Baltimore, and is seeking her Masters Degree in Music Education at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Though I have been playing piano for about ten years, the vast array of emotions in music never ceases to amaze me.  I enjoy composing pieces, and currently attend Baltimore School for the Arts.