NEWS
Brett Mitchell to Debut with Virginia Symphony Orchestra in October 2026
In unveiling their 2026-27 season, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra has announced that Brett Mitchell will make his debut in October 2026, leading the orchestra and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus in the music of Mozart to accompany a screening of the eight-time Oscar-winning classic Amadeus.
This performance will be presented on Saturday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, VA.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.
Brett Mitchell to Debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago in January 2027
CHICAGO — In unveiling their 2026-27 season, Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced that Brett Mitchell will make his debut with the company in January 2027, leading the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus in the music of Mozart to accompany two screenings of the eight-time Oscar-winning classic Amadeus.
Mr. Mitchell and the musicians will present two performances of the project, both at the Lyric Opera House in downtown Chicago:
Friday, January 15 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, January 16 at 2 p.m.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please click here.
And click here to read a preview of the Lyric’s 2026-27 season from CBS Chicago.
Brett Mitchell Returns to the San Francisco Symphony in May 2027
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Symphony has announced that their 2026-27 season will feature the return of guest conductor Brett Mitchell to the podium.
On Friday, May 21, 2027, Mitchell will lead the orchestra in a performance of Michael Giacchino’s Oscar-winning score for Disney and Pixar’s Up while the film is screened above the Davies Symphony Hall stage.
Mitchell first led the San Francisco Symphony in July 2019 in a program of Berlioz and Mendelssohn.
Brett Mitchell to Lead Five Performances with the Houston Symphony in January 2027
HOUSTON — The Houston Symphony has announced that Brett Mitchell will return in January 2027 to lead the orchestra in five performances with Cirque de la Symphonie at Jones Hall.
Mr. Mitchell and the orchestra will present three pops performances with the troupe:
Friday, January 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, January 31 at 2 p.m.
They will also present two family concerts:
Saturday, January 30 at 10 a.m.
Saturday, January 30 at 11:30 a.m.
Mr. Mitchell has been leading the Houston Symphony for almost 20 years since joining the orchestra as Assistant Conductor in the 2007-08 season. Since then, he has led more than 150 concerts with the ensemble, including upcoming performances of Nicholas Hooper’s score for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in June 2026.
Brett Mitchell Returns to the 2026 Blossom Music Festival with The Cleveland Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra at the 2026 Blossom Music Festival. (Photograph by Roger Mastroianni)
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Orchestra has announced that, for the third consecutive summer, Brett Mitchell will lead the orchestra in a weekend of performances at the 2026 Blossom Music Festival.
Mr. Mitchell and the orchestra will present John Williams’s Grammy-nominated score for the second film in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, while the original film plays live on the big screen twice at Blossom Music Center:
Saturday, July 11 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, July 12 at 7 p.m.
For tickets and more information, please click here. To read a preview of the entire 2026 Blossom Music Festival, please click here.
Mr. Mitchell has been leading The Cleveland Orchestra for a dozen years since joining the orchestra as Assistant Conductor in the 2013-14 season. Since then, he has led more than 150 performances with the ensemble, including John Williams’s Oscar-nominated score for the first film in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, at Blossom in July 2025.
Brett Mitchell Returns to the Houston Symphony in June 2026
Brett Mitchell will return to the Houston Symphony in June 2026. (Photograph by Roger Mastroianni)
HOUSTON — The Houston Symphony has announced that Brett Mitchell will return to lead the orchestra in Nicholas Hooper’s score for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth film in the Harry Potter franchise.
Mr. Mitchell and the orchestra will present the film with live orchestral accompaniment twice at Jones Hall:
Friday, June 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 27 at 2 p.m.
For more information, please click here.
Mr. Mitchell has been leading the Houston Symphony for almost 20 years since joining the orchestra as Assistant Conductor in the 2007-08 season. Since then, he has led more than 150 performances with the ensemble, including John Williams’s Oscar-nominated score Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in July 2023 and Patrick Doyle’s score for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in June 2025.
Preview: ‘Brahms, Kodály take center stage with Tulsa Symphony Orchestra’
TULSA – The Claremore Daily Progress has published a preview of Brett Mitchell’s upcoming subscription program with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra:
The Tulsa Symphony Orchestra will open the new year at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.
Much-in-demand guest conductor Brett Mitchell leads the performance, bringing his broad orchestral experience and distinctive musical insight to the Tulsa stage.
The evening opens with the Brahms favorite "Variations on a Theme" by Haydn, followed by Kodály’s lively "Dances of Galánta," inspired by Hungarian folk tunes and known for its bold rhythms. The evening’s finale showcases Brahms’s radiant "Symphony No. 2 in D major," a piece celebrated for its warmth and melodic beauty.
Brett Mitchell brings a wealth of experience to the performance, having led major orchestras at home and abroad including the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Known for his engaging presence and thoughtful interpretations, Mitchell returns to the Tulsa stage to interpret an engaging program highlighting the artistry and influence of Brahms and Kodály.
“This program brings together two masters of orchestral imagination and structure,” said Ron Predl, executive director of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. “From the elegance of Brahms to the rhythmic vitality of Kodály, audiences can expect an entertaining and moving symphonic experience led by this world-class conductor.”
To read the complete preview, please click here (paywall).
Brett Mitchell to Debut with Memphis Symphony Orchestra in October
MEMPHIS — The Memphis Symphony Orchestra has announced that Brett Mitchell will make his subscription debut with the ensemble this fall, leading the following program:
MASON BATES - Philharmonia fantastique
BERLIOZ - Symphonie fantastique
The program will be presented on Saturday, October 25 at 7:30 PM at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts and on Sunday, October 26 at 2:30 PM at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center.
For more information, please click here.
Brett Mitchell Returns to The Cleveland Orchestra in February 2026
Brett Mitchell will lead two performances of Michael Giacchino’s Oscar-winning score for Up with The Cleveland Orchestra in February 2026.
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Orchestra has announced that Brett Mitchell will return to Severance Music Center in February 2026 to lead two performances of Michael Giacchino’s Oscar-winning score for Up.
Two performances will be presented:
Friday, February 13 at 7:30 PM
Sunday. February 15 at 3:00 PM
For tickets and more information, please click here.
‘An Impressive Philharmonic Debut’: Brett Mitchell Steps In at the New York Philharmonic
Brett Mitchell leads the New York Philharmonic at David Geffen Hall. © Brandon Patoc
NEW YORK — On May 16, 17, and 18, Brett Mitchell stepped in for his subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic, leading three performances of Kevin Puts's The Brightness of Light featuring soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Rod Gilfry, followed by the complete score of Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé featuring the New York Philharmonic Chorus.
Review: With Last-Minute Conductor Swap, Philharmonic Soldiers On
Brett Mitchell led the New York Philharmonic in the local premiere of a song cycle by Kevin Puts, featuring the soprano Renée Fleming.
"The Philharmonic announced on Thursday afternoon — just a day before the concerts — that [Juanjo] Mena would not be conducting… Instead, the conductor Brett Mitchell, the music director of California's Pasadena Symphony and a newcomer to the Philharmonic, stepped in. Mitchell possesses the right credentials, having led The Brightness of Light at the Colorado Symphony with Fleming and Gilfry in 2019. Still, this was no easy task given his truncated rehearsal time and lack of familiarity with the players... School may be almost out, but the Philharmonic passed this particular test with grit."
New York Philharmonic with Renée Fleming & Rod Gilfry — Brett Mitchell conducts Puts and Ravel
Stepping in for Juanjo Mena, Brett Mitchell made an impressive Philharmonic debut.
"Under Mitchell, the Philharmonic was rhythmically secure and well-attuned to the nuances of Puts's captivating score, and electrifying in the rapturous rendition of 'The High Priestess of the Desert'."
"Mitchell expertly managed [Daphnis et Chloé's] frequent tempo changes, alternating between languid wooing, ceremonial processions, exhilarating dances, sudden scenes of conflict, and tumultuous revelry... The vocalizing of the 60-member NY Philharmonic Chorus, meticulously prepared by Malcolm J. Merriweather, provided additional color and strength to this ravishing rendition."
"The Philharmonic was not left out of Puts's efforts—not only in the marvelously, intricately orchestrated songs, but in a pair of Orchestral Interludes, 'Georgia and Alfred' and 'The High Priestess of the Desert'—through which conductor Mitchell drew sweep and passion. He was a last-minute substitution on the podium, though he had conducted the work once before. Still, he did a stellar job, as did the ensemble."
"Complete scores of ballets can flag in concert without dancers to sustain interest, but the hour-long performance of Daphnis et Chloé had no such problem Friday night. Conductor Mitchell smoothly managed Ravel's constant tempo changes, ushering in stately processions, infectious dances, languid wooing, sudden battles, and ecstatic revelry by rapid turns. (The list of tempo markings alone occupied an entire page of the Philharmonic program.)"
"There is a pleasing lyricism to Puts' writing here, and the Philharmonic produced an appropriately warm coloring under conductor Brett Mitchell, a last-minute replacement…"
"Mitchell rounded out the program with a complete performance of Daphnis et Chloé, the latest in the Philharmonic's ongoing celebration of Ravel's 150th anniversary... Mitchell kept the action moving seamlessly in a work that can easily turn a conductor into a traffic cop, and...the Philharmonic's reading offered a performance delightfully varied in color and style."
"In his Philharmonic debut, Brett Mitchell was a last-minute replacement... Even on short notice, Mitchell was well prepared for the Puts cycle, having conducted the work in 2019 as music director of the Colorado Symphony, one of the work's co-commissioners... The conductor paced both works nicely, with a good sense of where the Puts needed to breathe."
Brett Mitchell leads the New York Philharmonic at David Geffen Hall. © Brandon Patoc
Brett Mitchell returns to Tulsa Symphony Orchestra’s 2025-26 classical season
Brett Mitchell will lead a program of Brahms and Kodály with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra in January 2026.
TULSA — The Tulsa Symphony Orchestra has announced that Brett Mitchell will return to lead the third classical subscription concert of their 2025-26 season, leading the following program at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center on Saturday, January 10, 2026:
BRAHMS - Variations on a Theme by Haydn
KODÁLY - Dances of Galánta
BRAHMS - Symphony No. 2
Mr. Mitchell first led the orchestra in March 2023 in a program of Bach, Vaughan Williams, Mahler, and Prokofiev, and returned in October 2024 with a program of Brahms, Ravel, and Bartók. This performance marks his third engagement with the orchestra.
For more information, please click here.
New York Times Review: ‘With Last-Minute Conductor Swap, Philharmonic Soldiers On’
NEW YORK — The New York Times has published a review of Brett Mitchell’s eleventh-hour subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic:
The final weeks of an orchestra’s season can feel like the end of school: Everyone’s worn down and summer is beckoning. Last week’s program at the New York Philharmonic had that mood even before a late-breaking curveball that tested the orchestra further.
The Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena was to be on the podium for the New York debut of Kevin Puts’s “The Brightness of Light,” an orchestral song cycle featuring the soprano Renée Fleming and the baritone Rod Gilfry, along with Ravel’s rapturous “Daphnis et Chloé.”
But the Philharmonic announced on Thursday afternoon — just a day before the concerts — that Mena would not be conducting…
Instead, the conductor Brett Mitchell, the music director of California’s Pasadena Symphony and a newcomer to the Philharmonic, stepped in. Mitchell possesses the right credentials, having led “The Brightness of Light” at the Colorado Symphony with Fleming and Gilfry in 2019. Still, this was no easy task given his truncated rehearsal time and lack of familiarity with the players.
“The Brightness of Light” is a portrait of the artist Georgia O’Keeffe and her husband, the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. For the libretto, Puts uses selections from their correspondence — from the heady rush of their early relationship through its souring and O’Keeffe’s deepening romance with the landscape of New Mexico. (This work expands on an earlier piece with Fleming, “Letters,” that relies solely on O’Keeffe’s perspective.)
Puts, who also wrote the opera “The Hours” with Fleming in mind, adores her voice’s glowing luminosity; his orchestral writing often bathes her in shining halos of sound, and on Friday she returned the favor. Gilfry, who was also making his New York Philharmonic debut, handled Stieglitz with polish, though the role functions as little more than a foil for O’Keeffe’s personal and artistic evolution.
The music was accompanied by Wendall K. Harrington’s visuals, which included projections of work by O’Keeffe and Stieglitz, images of the couple’s letters, and libretto supertitles. Puts leans on the projections to do the storytelling; the music often feels more like accompaniment than main attraction. Still, he illustrates the couple’s complicated relationship with verve and humor, deploying rapid percussion to express the nervous, bright energy of new love, and a hacking, squawking violin solo (played by the concertmaster Frank Huang) to go with the lines “I’ve labored on the violin till all my fingers are sore — You never in your wildest dreams imagined anything worse than the notes I get out of it.” (A little on the nose, but enjoyable nonetheless.)
Then came the Ravel, played with a steely determination to get through the not-ideal circumstances… School may be almost out, but the Philharmonic passed this particular test with grit.
To read the complete review, please click here.
(A version of this article appeared in print on May 21, 2025, Section C, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: “Last-Minute Switch Steps Up to Podium. A newcomer conducts a song cycle featuring Renée Fleming.”)
Review: New York Philharmonic with Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry - Brett Mitchell conducts Puts and Ravel
Conductor Brett Mitchell and New York Philharmonic Chorus director Malcolm J. Merriweather onstage with the New York Philharmonic. © Brandon Patoc
Stepping in for Juanjo Mena, Brett Mitchell made an impressive Philharmonic debut.
NEW YORK — Classical Source has published a review of Brett Mitchell’s recent subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic:
Based on the 30-year-long, almost-daily correspondence between American painter Georgia O’Keeffe and the German-born photographer Alfred Stieglitz, Kevin Puts’s Brightness of Light is an expansion of his 2015 song-cycle, Letters from Georgia. Composed for Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry in 2019, the highly programmatic piece is difficult to categorize. Enhanced by Wendall K. Harrington’s engaging and evocative projection design – which utilizes videos of O’Keeffe and images by both artists and copies of some of their letters – the opus touches on every aspect of the couple’s tumultuous relationship, from their first, business-like meeting, through their initial ardor and post-marriage cooling off, to their final separation, which left them physically distant though still emotional entwined…
Under [Brett] Mitchell, the Philharmonic was rhythmically secure and well-attuned to the nuances of Puts’s captivating score, and electrifying in the rapturous rendition of ‘The High Priestess of the Desert’. There were many memorable moments, most notably concertmaster Frank Huang’s humorous, scordatura-tuned accompaniment to O’Keeffe’s narration of her own attempts to play the violin, and the tuned gongs in the concluding ‘Sunset’.
Somewhat long-winded, with an outlandish scenario based on a 2nd century quasi-mythic love story involving a goatherd, a shepherdess, a herdsman, pirates and the god Pan, Daphnis et Chloé is perhaps best appreciated by simply sitting back and marveling at Ravel’s miraculous music. Mitchell expertly managed the score’s frequent tempo changes, alternating between languid wooing, ceremonial processions, exhilarating dances, sudden scenes of conflict, and tumultuous revelry. Flute, clarinet, horn, and trumpet soloists were uniformly eloquent, and Nancy Allen (recognized at intermission for her 25 years as the Philharmonic’s principal harp) delivered particularly graceful glissandos. The vocalizing of the 60-member NY Philharmonic Chorus, meticulously prepared by Malcolm J. Merriweather, provided additional color and strength to this ravishing rendition.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: ‘Kevin Puts Has Georgia (and Alfred) on His Mind in BRIGHTNESS at NY Philharmonic’
Soprano Renée Fleming, conductor Brett Mitchell, and baritone Rod Gilfry perform Kevin Puts’s ‘The Brightness of Light’ with the New York Philharmonic. © Brandon Patoc
Renee Fleming and Rod Gilfry Thrill in Helping Bring Correspondence to Musical Life with Conductor Brett Mitchell
NEW YORK — Broadway World has published a review of Brett Mitchell’s recent subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic:
This past weekend, composer Kevin Puts’s BRIGHTNESS OF LIGHT, based on the long, abundant correspondence of artist Georgia O’Keeffe and photographer/gallerist Alfred Stieglitz, had its long overdue New York premiere, with the New York Philharmonic under debuting conductor Brett Mitchell, and soprano Renee Fleming as O’Keeffe and baritone Rod Gilfry as Stieglitz, friends and lovers (marital and otherwise)…
The Philharmonic was not left out of Puts’s efforts—not only in the marvelously, intricately orchestrated songs, but in a pair of Orchestral Interludes, “Georgia and Alfred” and “The High Priestess of the Desert”—through which conductor Mitchell drew sweep and passion. He was a last-minute substitution on the podium, though he had conducted the work once before. Still, he did a stellar job, as did the ensemble…
Filling out the program was Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloe (Choreographic Symphony in Three Parts),” which had been written by the composer for the Ballets Russes in 1912. It ran from the rhapsodic to the anarchic and back again, and was exciting to hear even if it's not among Ravel's most frequently played works.
Again, Mitchell didn’t have much time with the orchestra when he was parachuted in to replace Juanjo Mena, who was a last-minute cancellation, but the performance nonetheless ran smoothly… The New York Philharmonic Chorus, under Malcolm Merriweather, added greatly to the overall effect of the piece, becoming one more element of the orchestra.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: ‘Noisy and pastoral love vie in mixed Philharmonic program’
Brett Mitchell conducts the New York Philharmonic. © Brandon Patoc
NEW YORK — New York Classical Review has published a review of Brett Mitchell’s recent subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic:
Complete scores of ballets can flag in concert without dancers to sustain interest, but the hour-long performance of Daphnis et Chloé had no such problem Friday night. One could try to picture in one’s mind the ballet’s wacky scenario involving religious rites, shepherdesses and pirates, or one could just sit back and appreciate Ravel’s mastery of orchestral color and atmosphere. Ravel extracted two suites from this score, the second of which has become a familiar concert item, but it turns out the material in between the excerpts is almost as interesting.
Conductor [Brett] Mitchell smoothly managed Ravel’s constant tempo changes, ushering in stately processions, infectious dances, languid wooing, sudden battles, and ecstatic revelry by rapid turns. (The list of tempo markings alone occupied an entire page of the Philharmonic program.)
The wordless singing of the New York Philharmonic Chorus, directed by Malcolm J. Merriweather, put a human presence in the scene, whether cooing over the lovers or shouting for joy in the work’s closing revels.
Wind soloists and concertmaster Frank Huang had their eloquent say in the score’s quieter moments. Ripping arpeggios and tinkling nature sounds were contributed by harpist Nancy Allen, who was recognized before the performance for her 25 years as the Philharmonic’s principal harp.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: ‘Scenes from a marriage: The Brightness of Light at the NY Philharmonic’
‘The Brightness of Light’ creative team: from L to R, the New York Philharmonic, composer Kevin Puts, projection designer Wendall K. Harrington, conductor Brett Mitchell, baritone Rod Gilfry, and soprano Renée Fleming. © Brandon Patoc
NEW YORK — Bachtrack has published a review of Brett Mitchell’s recent subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic:
Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz wrote thousands of letters to each other, beginning in 1916 and continuing until his death 30 years later. Along the way, her talent and his influence turned them into one of the most influential artistic couples the United States has ever produced. Kevin Puts memorializes their complex relationship, and their way with words, in The Brightness of Light, a song cycle drawn from their voluminous correspondence. Previously heard in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Kansas City since its 2019 premiere, the work made its long-awaited Manhattan debut at the New York Philharmonic, featuring its original stars, Renée Fleming and Rod Gilfry.
Puts approaches the musical language in his typical style, an unapologetic embrace of neo-romanticism that recalls Barber and other mid-20th century American composers. The orchestra swells in two overwhelmingly lush interludes, Georgia and Alfred and The High Priestess of the Desert, with deeply chromatic tutti passages that envelope the listener in an intense sound world. There is a pleasing lyricism to Puts’ writing here, and the Philharmonic produced an appropriately warm coloring under conductor Brett Mitchell, a last-minute replacement…
Mitchell rounded out the program with a complete performance of Daphnis et Chloé, the latest in the Philharmonic’s ongoing celebration of Ravel’s 150th anniversary. The unusually bright acoustic of David Geffen Hall since its renovation in 2022 served the piece well, isolating solo voices in the woodwind and brass that sometimes get lost within the overall tapestry of the hour-long work. Mitchell kept the action moving seamlessly in a work that can easily turn a conductor into a traffic cop, and while the listener’s attention sometimes cannot help but wane, the Philharmonic’s reading offered a performance delightfully varied in color and style. Much credit goes to the New York Philharmonic Chorus, prepared by Malcolm J Merriweather, whose wordless cries of ecstasy set the right bacchic mood.
To read the full review, please click here.
Review: ‘Love, Light, Letters: Song Cycle Embraces Painter, Photographer’
Brett Mitchell leads the New York Philharmonic in Kevin Puts’s ‘The Brightness of Light’ with soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Rod Gilfry. © Brandon Patoc
NEW YORK — Classical Voice North America has published a review of Brett Mitchell’s recent subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic:
On May 16, the New York Philharmonic offered a program of two romances born in the early 20th century: a contemporary song cycle based on the correspondence between two iconic American artists and a 1912 ballet score highlighting nymphs and shepherds from classical mythology. The repertoire provided the opportunity to luxuriate in work by two of America’s finest opera veterans, supported and surrounded by New York’s flagship orchestra in full fettle.
Kevin Puts’ The Brightness of Light was born from an Eastman School of Music 2015 commission for soprano Renée Fleming for a performance by the conservatory’s orchestra at Lincoln Center. Eastman alumnus Puts came across a quote from Georgia O’Keeffe — “My first memory is of the brightness of light, of light all around” — and decided to set letters from the painter’s voluminous correspondence with Alfred Stieglitz, photographer, gallery owner, and O’Keeffe’s life partner. After the premiere of the cycle of eight songs for soprano, Fleming suggested expanding the work into a musical dialogue with Stieglitz with a part for a male singer. The expanded cycle premiered in 2019 at Tanglewood, co-commissioned by seven performing institutions, with Fleming and baritone Rod Gilfry in the roles they sang with the Philharmonic…
The complete score of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé (2012) filled the second half and provided a showcase for the orchestra, particularly appropriate on an evening honoring Philharmonic retirees and long-serving current members. Rich in solo opportunities throughout the sections, the work was Ravel’s only score for the legendary Ballets Russes, which from 1909 to 1929 was Europe’s preeminent ballet company. The hour-long ballet, to Ravel’s longest score, is set on the island of Lesbos where the goatherd Daphnis pursues the shepherdess Chloé among nymphs and shepherds. After Daphné is abducted by pirates and rescued, thanks to the intervention of Pan, all dance a frenzied bacchanale.
Ravel’s lush impressionistic language was a treat for the ear… There were many sensual delights to relish, notably the sinuous flute solos played by Robert Langevin.
In his Philharmonic debut, Brett Mitchell was a last-minute replacement for scheduled conductor Juanjo Mena. Mitchell currently serves as music director of the Pasadena Symphony and has appeared with major orchestras across the U.S. and globally. Even on short notice, Mitchell was well prepared for the [Kevin] Puts cycle [The Brightness of Light], having conducted the work in 2019 as music director of the Colorado Symphony, one of the work’s co-commissioners. The occasional earsplitting fortissimo (and a runaway wind machine) revealed Mitchell’s lack of familiarity with the acoustics of David Geffen Hall, but the conductor paced both works nicely, with a good sense of where the Puts needed to breathe.
To read the complete review, please click here.
In his Philharmonic debut, Brett Mitchell was a last-minute replacement for scheduled conductor Juanjo Mena. © Brandon Patoc
BREAKING: Brett Mitchell Steps In at the New York Philharmonic
NEW YORK — Stepping in for an indisposed Juanjo Mena, Brett Mitchell will make his subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic this weekend, the orchestra has announced.
On the first half of the program is Kevin Puts’s The Brightness of Light, featuring soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Rod Gilfry. Mr. Mitchell was a co-commissioner of this work during his tenure as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony.
On the second half, Mr. Mitchell and the orchestra will be joined by the New York Philharmonic Chorus for a performance of the complete score of Maurice Ravel’s ballet Daphnis et Chloé.
Three performances will be presented in the Philharmonic’s home of the Wu Tsai Theater at David Geffen Hall:
Friday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m
Saturday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 18 at 2 p.m.
For information, please click here.
Composer Kevin Puts, soprano Renée Fleming, conductor Brett Mitchell, and baritone Rod Gilfry after performing ‘The Brightness of Light’with the Colorado Symphony in November 2019
Brett Mitchell Returns to the Houston Symphony in June 2025
HOUSTON — The Houston Symphony has announced that Brett Mitchell will return to lead the orchestra in Patrick Doyle’s score for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth film in the Harry Potter franchise.
Mr. Mitchell and the orchestra will present the film with live orchestral accompaniment three times at Jones Hall:
Friday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 28 at 2 p.m.
Sunday, June 29 at 2 p.m.
For more information, please click here.
Mr. Mitchell has been leading the Houston Symphony for almost 20 years since joining the orchestra as Assistant Conductor in the 2007-08 season. Since then, he has led more than 150 performances with the ensemble, including John Williams’s Oscar-nominated score for the first film in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, in July 2023.
Brett Mitchell to debut with Nashville Symphony on 2025-26 classical series
NASHVILLE — The Nashville Symphony has announced that Brett Mitchell will make his debut on their 2025-26 classical subscription series, leading the following program at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on May 15 and 16, 2026:
BARBER - Medea’s Meditation and Dance of Vengeance
EDGAR MEYER - Bass Concerto No. 2 (for Double Bass and Percussion)
Edgar Meyer, double bass | Sam Bacco, percussion
BEETHOVEN - Symphony No. 3, ‘Eroica’
To learn more, please click here.