Brett Mitchell Appointed Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony

Pasadena Symphony Appoints Brett Mitchell Music Director
Highly Acclaimed Conductor Assumes Post on April 1, 2024

PASADENA, CA (March 22, 2024) – Pasadena Symphony Board President Kimberly Winick today announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Brett Mitchell Music Director. Mitchell begins his five-year tenure with Pasadena Symphony on April 1, 2024. His first performance as Music Director will be the orchestra’s season-opening concert on October 26, 2024 (2024/25 season details to be announced).

Winick states, “Brett Mitchell emerged from our competitive music director search as our all-around favorite, and I am delighted to welcome him as our new artistic leader. His energy and talent will engage, sustain, and help to broaden our musical community.”

Pasadena Symphony CEO Andrew Brown adds, “We are excited Brett Mitchell is joining the orchestra at this significant time in the orchestra’s history, with our centennial just four years away. Brett is a tremendous talent. With his deeply creative programming, broad vision, collaborative spirit, and innate ability to keep classical music fresh and inspire musicians and audiences alike, he is the right person to lead the orchestra into its second century.”

Mitchell says, “I'm deeply honored and absolutely thrilled to be joining the Pasadena Symphony as its next Music Director. From the first moment we made music together in March 2022, it was very clear that there was a special connection between the musicians and me, and that same chemistry has since extended beyond the stage to our friends in the audience and throughout our community. I couldn't be more excited for the musical journey that lies ahead for our entire community as we embark together on this next chapter of the Pasadena Symphony's story.”

Orchestra’s Sixth Music Director in Nearly a Century

Mitchell is the sixth conductor to serve as Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony since the orchestra was founded in 1928. He succeeds distinguished Music Directors Reginald Bland (1928- 1936); Dr. Richard Lert (1936-1968); Daniel Lewis (1971-1982); Jorge Mester (1984-2010); and David Lockington (2013-2022). Pasadena Symphony, which has garnered considerable critical and public acclaim throughout its history, is a “virtuoso orchestra” lauded for “zesty, swaggering performances” (Los Angeles Times) and celebrated for its “superb tonal clarity and rich instrumental brilliance” (Pasadena Star News).

In addition to overseeing all artistic aspects of the Pasadena Symphony, Mitchell will collaborate on the orchestra’s highly regarded community and education programs, including the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras, which encompass eleven award-winning ensembles serving students of all musical abilities in grades 5-12.

Mitchell, who has been on Pasadena Symphony’s radar for several years, was previously named an Artistic Partner for the orchestra’s 2021-22 season. Based on the strength of that initial appearance, he was invited to return as an Artistic Partner during the orchestra's 2023-24 season, leading its well-received opening concerts last fall.

Coming Full Circle

Mitchell – who was born in 1979, raised in Seattle, Washington, and now resides in Denver, Colorado with his family, where they plan to remain – vividly recalls the music from the Star Wars and Superman films having a tremendous impact on him as a child. “The first time I heard an orchestra was in a movie theater on a film soundtrack,” he explains, inspiring him to earn a degree in music composition from Western Washington University. “I wanted to be a film composer but ended up writing orchestral works that, in a twist of fate, I started conducting, which I discovered was my true passion.” That led to him earning both Master’s and Doctorate degrees in conducting from the University of Texas at Austin.

He continues, “In many ways, joining the Pasadena Symphony as Music Director is really coming full circle for me. So many of our musicians are these iconic studio players whose work I’ve known and loved for decades. To now be able to work with them and experience their artistry in person is a thrill beyond words.”

Additional Coverage

• Colorado Boulevard (3/22): Brett Mitchell Is New Pasadena Symphony Music Director

• Slippedisc (3/24): Pasadena Picks an American Music Director

• Pizzicato (3/24): Pasadena Symphony appoints Brett Mitchell as Music Director

• OperaWire (3/25): Pasadena Symphony Names Sixth Music Director in its History

• Hey SoCal (3/25): Pasadena Symphony announces Brett Mitchell as new music director

• Musical America (3/26): Pasadena Symphony Taps Music Director (subscription required)

• Broadway World (3/27): Pasadena Symphony Appoints Brett Mitchell Music Director

• Pasadena Now (3/27): Pasadena Symphony Names Brett Mitchell as Its Next Music Director

• The Violin Channel (3/28): California's Pasadena Symphony Appoints New Music Director

• Los Angeles Times (3/30): Easter music, alt art fair and the best L.A. culture in the week ahead

• Symphony (4/1): Brett Mitchell Named Music Director at Pasadena Symphony

• Local News Pasadena (4/4): Brett Mitchell is Listening

• Pasadena Weekly (4/11): Major Music Changes: Pasadena Symphony appoints Brett Mitchell as new music director

Brett Mitchell will lead his first concerts as Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony on October 26, 2024, at the orchestra’s home of the Ambassador Auditorium, often referred to as the “Carnegie Hall of the West.”