John Hillebrandt, Staff Accompanist and Lecturer at California State University, Stanislaus since 1996, is also the Principal Keyboardist for the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. His numerous and highly acclaimed performances each season include solo recitals, chamber music, concertos, and original compositions. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. degree in music from the University of Central Florida, and M.M. and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees in piano performance from the University of Michigan.

He has received numerous honors as both a pianist and composer, including first prize in the Florida West Coast Chopin Piano Competition and first prize in the American Matthay Association's Clara Wells Memorial Piano Competition. As a doctoral student he received a dissertation grant for the composition and performance of microtonal piano music, and won the University of Michigan's concerto competition for which he composed and performed his First Piano Concerto. The Modesto Symphony Orchestra commissioned and performed his Fantasia on French Carols for choir and orchestra during their 1999-2000 season.

In concerts presented by the California Composer's Consortium, Dr. Hillebrandt performs original works around the Central Valley and in San Francisco. In October 2005, he was the featured pianist of the Sonora Bach Festival, performing Bach's Fifteen Sinfonias and the world premier of the Hillebrandt "Transcendental Hymn-Fantasies, volume 2." Other recent performances have included Carnival of the Animals and Petrouchka with the MSO; Ravel's Piano Concerto in G with the Stanislaus Symphony; and Miklos Rosza's Spellbound Concerto with the MSO in 1999. As accompanist for the CSUS Concert Chorale, Dr. Hillebrandt has performed throughout Italy and France as both pianist and organist. He also traveled to South Korea in 2000 for a recital and masterclasses. He has taught many award-winning students, and spent two summers teaching at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.