His numerous and highly acclaimed performances each season include solo recitals, chamber music, concertos, and original compositions. He retired in 2011 from California State University, Stanislaus, where his remarkable career as staff accompanist and lecturer for 15 years included more than 500 performances. He has been the Principal Pianist and Keyboardist for the Modesto Symphony Orchestra since 1996, the Sacramento Philharmonic since 2017, “Music in the Mountains” in Grass Valley, and the Bear Valley Summer Music Festival since 2022. He has taught many award-winning students, and has been a regular adjudicator for the Music Teachers’ Association of California and numerous other competitions. Dr. Hillebrandt teaches Music Appreciation courses through Modesto Junior College, and performs on faculty artist concerts.

Dr. Hillebrandt is the music director at First United Methodist Church of Sacramento, where many of his original compositions are heard regularly. Hillebrandt’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra was featured by the Modesto Symphony Orchestra in 2013, and his orchestral composition, “Valley Fever,” was commissioned by the MSO in 2018 as part of Modesto’s annual “Graffiti” celebration.

Hillebrandt is also an avid skier and mountaineer. His climbs include the Grand Teton, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Whitney; and he has hiked to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite more than 50 times. He has completed one ultramarathon (50 km) and skied the Vallée Blanche in the French Alps, a 20 km glacier ski descent of Mont Blanc.