Cover Story: ‘New Beginnings: Pasadena Symphony launches 97th season’

PASADENA — Pasadena Weekly has published an extensive interview and profile of Brett Mitchell as he continues in his first season as Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony:

New Pasadena Symphony Music Director Brett Mitchell is fully aware that many people are exposed to classical music through cartoons or film. Whether it’s Bugs Bunny’s “Rabbit of Seville” or “What’s Opera Doc?” or “The Emperor’s Theme,” the songs resonate still.

That’s what drew him in as well.

“The first orchestra music I ever heard was the music that was coming through our TV set speakers,” he said. “When we got to see a movie, it was the music coming out of the speaker. It really was a gateway to classical music.”

“When I grew up in 1979, I grew up with ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Superman.’ I got my undergrad in composition because I wanted to write film music. I moved to conducting because I have the utmost respect for musicians. They were a formative part of my childhood. The opportunity to make music with them is truly a genuine treat.”

Mitchell continues his debut season with a program comprising four works with distinctive and colorful themes that play off Southern California’s adjacency to the Pacific Ocean and the tech industry.

The “Rhapsody in Blue” performances are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16. Mitchell opens the program with Mason Bates’ computer motherboard-inspired “Sea-Blue Circuitry,” an all-acoustic work.

“The grooves of ‘Sea-Blue Circuitry’ hiccup from measure to measure as rapidly as data quietly flashing on the silicon innards of a computer, yet the piece is entirely unplugged. It explores ways of recreating the precision of electronica through the instruments alone.”

For the next piece, featured guest pianist Stewart Goodyear joins Mitchell and the orchestra to interpret George Gershwin’s iconic “Rhapsody in Blue,” as part of the 2024 global celebration of the work’s centenary.

Mitchell is thrilled in his position. He said he feels it was made for him — but he doesn’t take it for granted.

“Any job is great,” he said. “We’re all happy to have any job in 2024. In addition to having the utmost respect for the orchestra, we hit it off right away. We had great chemistry. I equate it to dating: it takes the right guy and the right girl. The lack of chemistry is not indicative of the orchestra.”

He also has served as artistic director and conductor of Oregon’s Sunriver Music Festival since August 2022.

From 2017 to 2021, Mitchell served as music director of the Colorado Symphony in Denver; he previously served as music director designate during the 2016-17 season.

During his five-season tenure, he is credited with deepening the orchestra’s engagement with its audience via in-depth demonstrations from both the podium and the piano.

He also expanded the orchestra’s commitment to contemporary American repertoire — with a particular focus on the music of Mason Bates, Missy Mazzoli, and Kevin Puts — through world premieres, recording projects, and commissions.

In addition, Mitchell spearheaded collaborations with local partners as Colorado Ballet, Denver Young Artists Orchestra, and El Sistema Colorado.

From 2013 to 2017, Mitchell served on the conducting staff of The Cleveland Orchestra. He joined the orchestra as assistant conductor in 2013, and was promoted to associate conductor in 2015, becoming the first person to hold that title in over three decades and only the fifth in the orchestra’s 100-year history. In these roles, he led the orchestra in several dozen concerts each season at Severance Hall, Blossom Music Center, and on tour.

From 2007 to 2011, Mitchell led over 100 performances as Assistant Conductor of the Houston Symphony. He also held Assistant Conductor posts with the Orchestre National de France, where he worked under Kurt Masur from 2006 to 2009, and the Castleton Festival, where he worked under Lorin Maazel in 2009 and 2010.

In 2015, Mitchell completed a highly successful five-year appointment as music director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, where an increased focus on locally relevant programming and community collaborations resulted in record attendance throughout his tenure.

In addition to his work with professional orchestras, Mitchell is also well known for his affinity for working with and mentoring young musicians aspiring to be professional orchestral players.

His tenure as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra from 2013 to 2017 was highly praised and included a four-city tour of China in June 2015, marking the orchestra’s second international tour and its first to Asia. Mitchell is regularly invited to work with the talented young musicians at this country’s high-level training programs, such as the Cleveland Institute of Music, the National Repertory Orchestra, Texas Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival and Interlochen Center for the Arts. He has also served on the faculties of the schools of music at Northern Illinois University (2005-07), the University of Houston (2012-13) and the University of Denver (2019). During the 2022-23 academic year, Mitchell will again serve as adjunct professor of music at the University of Denver, acting as interim director of orchestras and professor of conducting.

Born in Seattle in 1979, Mitchell earned degrees in conducting from the University of Texas at Austin and composition from Western Washington University, which selected him as its Young Alumnus of the Year in 2014. He also studied with Leonard Slatkin at the National Conducting Institut and was selected by Kurt Masur as a recipient of the inaugural American Friends of the Mendelssohn Foundation Scholarship in 2008. Mitchell was also one of five recipients of the League of American Orchestras’ American Conducting Fellowship from 2007 to 2010.

To read the complete story, please click here, or read the full digital edition here.

Feature: "Colorado Symphony's new music director is ready to rock"

Seattle-born Brett Mitchell, the new 38-year-old music director for the Colorado Symphony, was raised on grunge before discovering his love for all things symphonic—and we do mean all things. (Photo by Peter Lockley)

DENVER — Denver Metro Media has published a feature about Brett Mitchell on the eve of his first performances as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony:

Brett Mitchell remembers the day he discovered the genius of Ludwig van Beethoven.

It was 1994 while watching the biopic Immortal Beloved with his mother. As actor Gary Oldman pantomimed one of the great piano sonatas, 15-year-old Mitchell grew puzzled, then aghast.

“Mom, they stole this melody from Billy Joel. How are they getting away with this?” the high school freshman whispered in quiet desperation.

Within a few hours, the truth had sunk in.

It was Joel who had nicked the tune from Beethoven, not the other way around. The 20th-century piano man had some years earlier transformed the German composer’s exquisite “Sonata Pathétique” into a lamenting tribute to 1950s doo-wop in a 1983 hit song called “This Night.”

Like countless devotees before him, the newly enlightened Mitchell would soon scour the life work of Beethoven, whose tortured life, he discovered, was in frequent contrast to the sheer beauty of the composer’s wide-ranging work.

“Beethoven kind of stands for this great moral searching,” Mitchell explained. “Now, he’s a huge part of my life, every bit as much as Kurt Cobain was 25 years ago.”

Today, the 38-year-old Seattle-born musical director for the Colorado Symphony still stands at the intersection of classical and pop, as well as its varied crossroads at video games, movies, rock and roll, and who knows what else....

Like his recent CSO predecessors, the new Generation-X conductor is determined to bring “longhair” music to everyone—yes, including those with hipster beards. The millennial ticket-buying generation will soon constitute half the nation’s workforce and half of its expendable income.

“Millennials tend to not be so insistent about putting things into boxes,” Mitchell said, noting the symphony’s ongoing genre surfing. “Classical music doesn’t actually mean anything. That’s kind of a nonsense term we use to cover a lot of stuff. The opposite of classical, whatever the hell that means, is pops, whatever the hell that means.”

This year, it means not only upcoming homages to Beethoven and George Gershwin and collaborations with classical vocalist Renée Fleming and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, but also tributes to Ella Fitzgerald and Prince, a concert with eclectic banjoist Bela Fleck, live accompaniment to a screening of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, and a special performance dedicated to the music of video games.

Tell Tchaikovsky the news, but break it to him gently.

Born in Seattle in 1979, Mitchell came of age when new wave was already old and his city of birth was delivering a newer child called grunge. [Remember the dollar bill dangling in front of the swimming infant on the cover of Nirvana’s Nevermind?]

“I heard a very tortured soul who was trying to work through things in a very public way,” Mitchell said of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. “When I started listening to Beethoven, honestly, I heard the exact same thing.”

Although rooted in the Baby-Boom rock of his parents and the 90s rock that permeated his hometown, Mitchell somehow found his calling in symphonic music, first in the movie soundtracks of John Williams, which would act as his bridge from pop to classical and set him off on his quest.

Before landing in the Mile High City, Mitchell held conducting positions with symphonies in Saginaw, Michigan, Cleveland and Houston, having studied conducting at the University of Texas in Austin. He held an assistant-conductor post with the Orchestre National de France and had a litany of guest shots across the United States and Europe prior to settling down in Denver this year.

Although Mitchell has yet to hit 40, that is not so unusual for a conductor, he says. Keep in mind, when the legendary Leonard Bernstein took the reins at the New York Philharmonic in 1958, he was only a couple years older than Mitchell is now. Even so, Mitchell sees his relative youth as a benefit.

“I’m sure that doesn’t hurt in terms of reaching out to younger audience members,” he said. “But what really helps is the fact that I’ve been evangelizing for classical music in a way that I hope makes it relatable to anybody and everybody.”

Mitchell points out that even someone as revered as Bernstein was no stick in the mud when it came to music. The conductor-composer was a sort of ambassador between classical and other genres and in 1967 hosted CBS’s Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution, in which Bernstein introduced the “establishment” to the likes of Brian Wilson, Roger McGuinn and Janis Ian.

“[Bernstein] would listen to The Beatles’ Revolver with his kids. The only discrimination was the quality of music they would listen to,” Mitchell said. “We approach it very much the same way in our house and I think Lenny was really a light that led the way for a lot of the rest of us.”

To read the complete article, please click here.

Preview: "Music from 'Psycho' part of Saginaw Bay Chamber Orchestra's 'Russian Tales' concert"

The Saginaw News has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Chamber Orchestra's upcoming season finale, which mark Brett Mitchell's final concerts as music director of the ensemble's parent organization, the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. The performances—taking place on Sunday, April 19 at the State Theatre in Bay City (3 p.m.) and the Bronner Performing Arts Center in Frankenmuth (7:30 p.m.)—will feature a suite from Bernard Herrmann's score for Psycho, Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony, and Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. To read this article, please click here.

Video: ‘Cleveland Orchestra assistant conductor releases blooper reel from tenure with Saginaw Bay Symphony’

"Nothing you say on-camera ever truly disappears. Especially not if it's funny, and you're a conductor," writes the Cleveland Plain Dealer about a newly released blooper reel from Brett Mitchell's five-season tenure as music director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. To read the complete story, please click here. Norman Lebrecht has also picked up the story on Slipped Disc: "A conductor releases his worst TV moments." To view the original video on YouTube, please click here.

Cover Story: ‘Bidding Farewell to a Maestro of Musical Magic’

On the eve of his final concert as music director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, The Review has published a profile of Brett Mitchell, and revisited some of the highlights from his five-year partnership with the orchestra.

Since the SBSO Board of Directors brought Mitchell on board back in 2010, he has consistently set the performance bar higher with each year of his tenure...by carving a proud legacy of superb musicianship, innovative programming, and compelling educational experiences that enrich the cultural climate for residents of the region. In the five short and sweet years that he was at the helm, Mitchell managed to shatter 75-year-old attendance records, achieving the SBSO’s first two sellouts under his direction, which has always been marked by a keen ear for combining and contrasting challenging signature works with the best new compositions being created by contemporary composers.

When asked what he is proudest of accomplishing during his tenure, Mitchell references the manner in which the orchestra has boldly stepped into the 21st century: "The thing I'm proudest of is what a forward-looking organization we've become over the past five seasons. The amount of young people we've brought into the Temple Theatre—people in their twenties and thirties who maybe have never had exposure to live classical orchestral music—is a source of great pride for me."

To read the complete story, please click here.

Preview: ‘Brett Mitchell prepares for his grand finale with the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra’

The Saginaw News has published an article chronicling Brett Mitchell's five-season tenure as music director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, which comes to a close with their final performance together on Saturday, March 14. To read this article—complete with testimonials from staff, musicians, and community members—please click here.

Preview: "Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's season opener to feature former conductor Samuel Jones"

The Saginaw News has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's opening concert of the 2014-15 season, which marks the beginning of Brett Mitchell's fifth and final year as music director. Renowned composer Samuel Jones will return to Saginaw to attend a performance of his Elegy, a piece Jones himself premiered with the orchestra while serving as its fourth music director from 1962 to 1965. To read this article, please click here.

Fall 2014 newsletter released

The Fall 2014 edition of Brett Mitchell's newsletter has been released. This edition highlights Mr. Mitchell's recent last-minute debut at the Blossom Music Festival with The Cleveland Orchestra, a return engagement with the Detroit Symphony, a debut with the Columbus Symphony, and details about his 2014-15 season with The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. To read or subscribe, please click here.

Brett Mitchell to play duo recital with Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Stephen Shipps

Brett Mitchell will play a duo recital with violinist Stephen Shipps, his concertmaster at the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. The performance will take place at the Saginaw Club at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 23, and will feature works of Provost, Korngold, Suk, and Williams. For more information, please click the "SCHEDULE" page above.

Preview: "Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra launches banner year with a few firsts and a final farewell"

The Saginaw News has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's 2014-15 season, "A Celebration of Excellence," which marks Brett Mitchell's fifth and final season as Music Director. To read this article, please click here.

Cover story: "Brett Mitchell: A Maestro of Musical Magic Comes Full Circle"

On the eve of his final season as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, Brett Mitchell sits down with The Review to discuss the coming season and the high points of his five-year partnership with the orchestra.

"The Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra is poised to kick off their 2014-15 concert season upon an apex of creativity and critical acclaim cultivated largely through the insightful and innovative instincts of music director Brett Mitchell. Since the SBSO Board of Directors brought Mitchell on board back in 2010, he has consistently set the performance bar higher with each year of his tenure."

The article describes Mitchell as "beloved by an expansive and divergent array of artistic supporters throughout the region," in part because of the "forward momentum and the impressive legacy he has rendered over five short years." To read the complete article, please click here.

2014-15 season announcement: Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra

The Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2014-15 season, which marks Brett Mitchell's fifth and final season as music director. In addition to the orchestra's complete classical subscription series, Mr. Mitchell will lead various education, holiday, Pops, and chamber orchestra concerts. His final performance in April 2015 will feature works by the same three composers with which he opened his tenure in September 2010: Kevin Puts ("...this noble company"), Mozart (concert arias with bass-baritone Timothy Jones), and Mahler (Symphony No. 5). For more information, please click the "SCHEDULE" page above.

2014-15 to be Brett Mitchell's fifth and final season with Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra

Brett Mitchell has announced that the 2014-15 season will be his last as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. "With my increasingly busy schedule as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra, Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and a growing list of guest conducting engagements, the time is right for me to move on to new opportunities and for our audience to experience the fresh perspective of new artistic leadership."
    Since Mitchell began as the SBSO's ninth Music Director in 2010, the orchestra has set record attendance (including the first sell-outs in their 80-year history), pursued dozens of collaborations with local arts organizations and internationally renowned artists, established a special focus on contemporary American music, and founded a new chamber orchestra series.
    For more information, please read this article in the Saginaw News.

Review: "Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra soars amid 'The Planets'"

"I have no idea how maestro Brett Mitchell did it, but he made our orchestra sound like twice as many players were sitting up there on the stage, delivered every nuance you could possibly find in the piece, and generally raised hair on the back the neck. The colors in this performance were as brilliant as the sun." To read the complete review, please click here.

Preview: "Love is in the air for Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra concert"

The Saginaw News has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming, Valentine's-themed subscription concert, featuring works of Mozart, Richard Strauss, Gershwin, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky. To read this article, please click here.

Preview: "Saginaw artist's paintings add depth to Saginaw Symphony's 'A Tale of Two Nutcrackers'"

The Saginaw News has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming annual holiday spectacular, which will feature a world-premiere, Nutcracker-based multimedia collaboration between the orchestra and local visual artist Kellie Schneider. To read this article, please click here.

Review: "Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra hits a milestone with Stravinsky"

Janet Martineau has published a review of the final concert of Brett Mitchell's third season at the helm of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. “Quite simply the SBSO outdid itself, particularly in the performance of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Watching maestro Brett Mitchell swing and sway and sweat in conducting it made up for the missing dancers in this ballet piece celebrating its 100th birthday this month. At the end, after thunderous applause and a standing ovation, Mitchell held the score over his head in triumph to the stellar performance. They left us breathless and amazed.” To read the complete review, please click here.

Brett Mitchell to remain with Saginaw while taking on Cleveland

Brett Mitchell will continue as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra when his term as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra commences in September 2013. His current contract in Saginaw runs through June 2016. (For further details, please visit this article in today's "Saginaw News".) Mr. Mitchell, who will also become Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra this fall, will resign his other current post as Music Director of the Moores Opera Center at the close of the 2012-13 season.

Two Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra concerts named among best arts events of 2012

Two of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's concerts are included on the Saginaw News' list of the best arts events of 2012. “Now in his third year at the helm of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, Brett Mitchell still creates a new soundscape in Saginaw, drawing from classic and contemporary, telling a story in the process and occasionally sharing the stage with others in the Great Lakes Bay Region. 'Shakespearean Dreams'…was so beautiful…a beacon that made collaboration more than a buzzword.” The two performances featured in the article are February 2012's coproduction of Shakespeare's and Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Pit and Balcony and Saginaw Choral Society, as well as March 2012's collaboration with visual artist Kellie Schneider, whom the orchestra commissioned to create seven original illustrations based on Ravel's Mother Goose. The complete feature can be read here.

Review: "Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's Christmas concert takes some fun chances"

Janet Martineau has published a review of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's annual holiday spectacular. “The entire sold-out concert conducted by Brett Mitchell was pure delight -- and mostly from the lesser heard fare on the program.... Bravo, Maestro Mitchell, for finding new musical presents to play in Saginaw....and the gutsy stretching of the boundaries.” To read the complete review, please click here.