FILM CONCERTS

FILM CONCERTS: LIVE-TO-PICTURE

Film music was Brett Mitchell’s entry point into the orchestral world, and live-to-picture concerts remain among his deepest passions on the podium. Having led more than 25 unique titles with some of America’s finest orchestras, he brings to this repertoire the same technical command and musical seriousness he applies to the standard symphonic canon. Working without click track, he leads these performances with a flexible, musician-centered approach that preserves the expressive freedom of a concert setting while maintaining precise synchronization to picture, resulting in performances that feel both exacting and vividly alive.


CRITICAL ACCLAIM

“For The Cleveland Orchestra and Brett Mitchell, An American in Paris entailed two solid hours of vigilant hard work lining up brisk music with the lips of singers and the feet of dancers in lavish tap and ballet numbers.”

Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Mitchell’s role in West Side Story was crucial and tricky… Conductor and orchestra did an admirable job of playing excitingly and expressively while matching their music to the singing and dancing on the big screen.”

Cleveland Classical

“The precision of the coordination was remarkable, leading to the somewhat ironic conclusion that The Cleveland Orchestra—at full force on Saturday—did not intrude in a splendid screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Cleveland Classical

A stylized illustration of a figure with a geometric face and one eye visible, holding out hands above a cityscape at night. The figure's head has a spiral and star pattern, with a small depiction of a person standing at the center of the spiral. The background has a pinkish gradient, and the bottom features the word "AMADEUS" in large white letters.

AMADEUS

Music by
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Directed by
MILOŠ FORMAN

PERFORMANCES
Colorado Symphony (2019)
Virginia Symphony Orchestra (2026)
Lyric Opera of Chicago (2027)

A vintage poster featuring a man in a tuxedo dancing with a woman in a pink dress in front of a large fountain and the Palace of Versailles, with the title 'An American in Paris' in red text.

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

Music by
GEORGE GERSHWIN

Directed by
VINCENTE MINNELLI

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2019)
Los Angeles Philharmonic (2019)

Poster for 'Back to the Future' featuring Marty McFly adjusting his sunglasses with a DeLorean time machine emitting flames and light trails in the background.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Music by
ALAN SILVESTRI

Directed by
ROBERT ZEMECKIS

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2015)

Poster for a documentary titled 'The Blue Planet', featuring a shark swimming underwater with sunlight shining through the water.

THE BLUE PLANET LIVE

Music by
GEORGE FENTON

Narrated by
DAVID ATTENBOROUGH

PERFORMANCES
Houston Symphony (2009)

Image of Mickey Mouse dressed as a wizard, standing on a scroll with music notes, wearing a blue wizard hat with stars and crescent moons, and a red robe.

DISNEY’S FANTASIA

Music by
BEETHOVEN
TCHAIKOVSKY
DEBUSSY
STRAVINSKY
PONCHIELLI
DUKAS
ELGAR
RESPIGHI
SAINT-SAËNS

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2014)
Houston Symphony (2022)

Movie poster for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial featuring a silhouette of E.T. reaching towards a child’s hand with a bicycle flying in front of a large full moon in the night sky.

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL

Music by
JOHN WILLIAMS

Directed by
STEVEN SPIELBERG

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2017)

A person dressed as Buddy the Elf from the movie in front of a city skyline with snow, standing between large black outlined green letters Q and A with gold embroidery.

ELF

Music by
JOHN DEBNEY

Directed by
JON FAVREAU

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2023)

Movie poster for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone featuring Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Hedwig with Hogwarts castle and full moon in background.

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE

Music by
JOHN WILLIAMS

Directed by
CHRIS COLUMBUS

PERFORMANCES
Houston Symphony (2023)
The Cleveland Orchestra (2025)

Movie poster for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets featuring Harry, Ron, and Hermione in Hogwarts uniforms holding a sword, with Dobby the house elf at the bottom and a dark castle background.

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

Music by
JOHN WILLIAMS

Directed by
CHRIS COLUMBUS

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2026)

The poster for the movie 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire', featuring six main characters standing in front of a lake with dragon-shaped structures and a castle in the background.

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

Music by
PATRICK DOYLE

Directed by
MIKE NEWELL

PERFORMANCES
Houston Symphony (2025)

Posters of Harry Potter characters Harry, Hermione, and Ron with the title "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Close-up of Harry's face with glasses, Hermione holding a wand, and Ron holding a wand. Background of dark clouds.

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

Music by
NICHOLAS HOOPER

Directed by
DAVID YATES

PERFORMANCES
Houston Symphony (2026)

Cover of the movie 'Home Alone' featuring a young boy with red hair in the center, holding his face in surprise, with two men in the background, one winking and the other with a stern expression, and a snowball near the bottom.

HOME ALONE

Music by
JOHN WILLIAMS

Directed by
CHRIS COLUMBUS

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2015)
Colorado Symphony (2018)
Colorado Symphony (2019)
The Cleveland Orchestra (2022)

A poster for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, featuring Indiana Jones in the center holding a whip, with various illustrated characters and symbols from the film in the background, including a snake, a woman, and an idol, all with a vintage, illustrated style.

INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Music by
JOHN WILLIAMS

Directed by
STEVEN SPIELBERG

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2016)

Movie poster for 'It's a Wonderful Life' showing a woman in a yellow shirt and green skirt being lifted by a man in a black suit and glasses, with the slogan 'It's a Wonderful Life' in red text.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Music by
DIMITRI TIOMKIN

Directed by
FRANK CAPRA

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2016)

A large great white shark with sharp teeth approaching from below, with a swimmer floating on the water's surface above it, and the word 'JAWS' in bold red letters at the top.

JAWS

Music by
JOHN WILLIAMS

Directed by
STEVEN SPIELBERG

PERFORMANCES
Colorado Symphony (2018)

Logo of Jurassic Park featuring a black T-Rex silhouette inside a red circular background with yellow border and the words "Jurassic Park" written below in bold white font.

JURASSIC PARK

Music by
JOHN WILLIAMS

Directed by
STEVEN SPIELBERG

PERFORMANCES
Colorado Symphony (2018)

Cover of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' movie poster with Jack Skellington standing on a curled hill against a large yellow moon, surrounded by glowing jack-o'-lanterns, with ghostly figures and a spooky fence in the background.

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Music by
DANNY ELFMAN

Directed by
TIM BURTON

PERFORMANCES
Houston Symphony (2023)

A woman with short hair is screaming in the poster for 'Psycho.' The image features red and black color tones with some text partially visible at the bottom.

PSYCHO

Music by
BERNARD HERRMANN

Directed by
ALFRED HITCHCOCK

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2014)

Illustration of a snowman with a carrot nose, two coal buttons, and a big smile, wearing a green hat and scarf, set against a snowy, light blue background.

THE SNOWMAN

Music by
HOWARD BLAKE

Directed by
DIANNE JACKSON

PERFORMANCES
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (2012)

A poster of Star Wars featuring Darth Vader's helmet in the background, with Princess Leia holding a blaster and Luke Skywalker holding a lightsaber. The Star Wars logo is at the bottom.

STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE

Music by
JOHN WILLIAMS

Directed by
GEORGE LUCAS

PERFORMANCES
Colorado Symphony (2018)

Promotional poster for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back featuring characters Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia in the foreground, with Darth Vader's helmet in the background, along with Rebel and Imperial ships, C-3PO, R2-D2, and a Tauntaun creature.

STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Music by
JOHN WILLIAMS

Directed by
IRVIN KERSHNER

PERFORMANCES
Colorado Symphony (2019)

Promotional poster for the movie 'Star Wars: Return of the Jedi' featuring characters and scenes from the film, including Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and others, with the movie title at the bottom.

STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI

Music by
JOHN WILLIAMS

Directed by
RICHARD MARQUAND

PERFORMANCES
Colorado Symphony (2020)
Houston Symphony (2022)

A house being lifted into the sky by a large cluster of colorful balloons in the movie poster for 'Up.'

UP

Music by
MICHAEL GIACCHINO

Directed by
PETE DOCTER

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2026)
San Francisco Symphony (2027)

Silhouette of a person climbing a spiral staircase made of white lines against an orange background, with the word 'VERTIGO' written at the bottom.

VERTIGO

Music by
BERNARD HERRMANN

Directed by
ALFRED HITCHCOCK

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2015)

Red background with black distressed text reading "West Side Story" and silhouettes of two dancers in poses on fire escape stairs.

WEST SIDE STORY

Music by
LEONARD BERNSTEIN

Directed by
ROBERT WISE & JEROME ROBBINS

PERFORMANCES
The Cleveland Orchestra (2017)
The Cleveland Orchestra (2023)

BEHIND THE SCENES

Go behind the scenes for an inside look at the rehearsal and preparation process behind a live-to-picture performance of An American in Paris with The Cleveland Orchestra, highlighting the rigorous coordination, flexibility, and musical decision-making required to bring the film and its score vividly to life.

Exploring the technical challenges of live-to-picture synchronization

Rehearsing ‘An American in Paris’ with The Cleveland Orchestra

BOOKING INQUIRIES

URGENT / TIME-SENSITIVE
213.557.0605
Office of Brett Mitchell