Preview: ‘Pasadena Symphony Charts New Course With Hollywood-Classical Fusion’

At left, newly named Pasadena Symphony Music Director Brett Mitchell [photo by Tim Sullens]. At right, Aimée Kreston, Pasadena Symphony Concertmaster [photo courtesy of Pasadena Symphony]

PASADENA — Pasadena Now has published a preview of Brett Mitchell’s upcoming tenure as Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony:

Music Director Brett Mitchell brings Symphony’s film scoring heritage to forefront through innovative programming

The Pasadena Symphony is embarking on an innovative new programming direction that celebrates its unique connection to Hollywood film scoring, as exemplified by their upcoming performance of Korngold’s Violin Concerto this weekend.

The strategic shift, under newly appointed Music Director Brett Mitchell, aims to highlight the orchestra’s distinctive makeup of musicians who regularly perform soundtracks for major motion pictures and animated films.

“The Pasadena Symphony is almost entirely made up of people who play the music for the movies that you all listen to,” explains Concertmaster Aimée Kreston, who has served with the orchestra since 2000. “We are the ones who actually are playing the soundtracks in all the great movies.”

This dual identity sets the Pasadena Symphony apart from other major orchestras.

“That’s not the case of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony or the New York Philharmonic,” Kreston notes.

The orchestra’s members can be heard in “every Pixar movie, every blockbuster,” contributing to some of Hollywood’s most notable soundtracks.

Mitchell’s programming strategy includes works by composers who bridge the classical and film music worlds. Beyond Korngold, who was himself a film composer, the orchestra will feature pieces by Peter Boyer, another established figure in both realms.

“I think it’s long overdue that we make that clear and that we bring that out, that that’s a core part of our identity,” says Kreston of the orchestra’s Hollywood connections.

The new direction comes following what Kreston describes as “a conductor search for several years, and it’s been going on since the Covid epidemic.”

Beyond its film music identity, the Pasadena Symphony maintains a robust presence in the community through “eleven youth ensembles,” educational programs, and “the beautiful summer Pops series out at the Arboretum.”

As Kreston notes, hundreds of young people participate in their youth orchestras, while the organization continues to bring classical music to Pasadena audiences through both its regular season and summer Pops series.

The orchestra’s evolution under Mitchell’s leadership represents a new chapter for the Pasadena Symphony.

The Pasadena Symphony performs at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at Ambassador Auditorium. Music Director Brett Mitchell conducts violinist Akiko Suwanai in a program featuring Peter Boyer’s “New Beginnings,” Korngold’s Violin Concerto and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, “Titan.”

To read the complete preview, please click here.