NEWS
Debut with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will make his debut with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in a series of concerts in June and July 2015. The programs will feature works of Bernstein, Copland, Wagner, Gershwin, Williams, and Ives. For more information about these performances, please visit our SCHEDULE page.
Brett Mitchell receives contract extension and promotion with The Cleveland Orchestra
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall in March 2014 (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Orchestra has announced an extension of Brett Mitchell's contract for two years through the 2016-17 season. After serving for two years as Assistant Conductor (2013-15), Mr. Mitchell's title will be elevated to Associate Conductor at the start of the 2015-16 season. He will become the first person to hold that title with the Orchestra in over three decades, and only the fifth in its 98-season history. A concurrent agreement extends Mr. Mitchell’s work as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra through the same period. To learn more, please visit the following links:
The Plain Dealer: "Cleveland Orchestra assistant conductor Brett Mitchell lands contract extension and promotion"
Crain's Cleveland Business: "Cleveland Orchestra gives conductor a two-year contract extension"
Broadway World: "Brett Mitchell extends contract with Cleveland Orchestra through 2016-17 season"
Alisa Weilerstein to perform with Brett Mitchell and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
The League of American Orchestras has announced that internationally renowned cellist Alisa Weilerstein will join the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and music director Brett Mitchell for a special performance at the opening session of their annual conference later this month in Cleveland.
An alumna of COYO, Ms. Weilerstein will open the event with a performance of The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns, accompanied by Mr. Mitchell and the orchestra. She will then return to COYO's cello section for the first time in over twenty years for a performance of the finale of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony, one of four works the orchestra will play on their four-city tour of China in June 2015.
This performance is free to all conference attendees, and will take place on Wednesday, May 27 at 1:30 p.m. in the Music Hall at the Cleveland Public Auditorium. For more information, please click here.
Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's China tour send-off performance to be broadcast live
WCLV 104.9 FM has announced that it will broadcast the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's send-off performance before upcoming their four-city tour of China in June 2015. This concert will be broadcast live from Severance Hall on Sunday, June 14 at 3 p.m. EDT, and may be streamed live at WCLV.org.
Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra to receive its first-ever national broadcast
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra will receive its first-ever national broadcast on The Cleveland Orchestra on the Radio on August 8, 2015. Brett Mitchell will lead the orchestra in John Adams's The Chairman Dances, Roy Harris's Symphony No. 3, and Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique. Please check local listings for broadcast times in your region.
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.
Return engagement with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
After a successful three-concert debut weekend with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in June 2014, Brett Mitchell has been engaged to return to the orchestra for an additional performance later this month. Mr. Mitchell will lead the DSO in works of Brahms, Mendelssohn, Bizet, and more at the Chrysler Headquarters and Technology Center on Tuesday, October 14, 2014. For more information, please visit the SCHEDULE page above.
COYO's 2015 MLK concert announced
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and music director Brett Mitchell will perform their annual free concert at Severance Hall on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, taking place this season on Monday, January 19, 2015. This year's repertoire includes works of Debussy, Ravel, Coleridge-Taylor, and Tchaikovsky. For more information, please click the "SCHEDULE" link above.
DEBUSSY - La mer: III. "Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea"
RAVEL - Une barque sur l'océan
TCHAIKOVSKY - Violin Concerto: III. Finale: Allegro vivacissimo (Jieming Tang, violin)
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR - African Suite: "Danse nègre"
TCHAIKOVSKY - Symphony No. 4: IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco
Debut with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will make his debut with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra on April 16, 2015, leading a program of Jennifer Higdon's Peachtree Street, Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, and the 1919 suite from Stravinsky's The Firebird. For more information, 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.
Additional concerts with The Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra has engaged Brett Mitchell to lead several additional concerts during their 2014-15 concert season. On March 4, 2015, Mr. Mitchell and the orchestra will perform a free community concert during their annual Miami residency. On March 15, 2015, Mr. Mitchell and the orchestra will perform works of Britten, Bernstein, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Mozart, and Williams on their second family concert of the season at Severance Hall. For more information on both of these concerts, please click here.
Broadcast schedule announced for Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2014-15 season
WCLV 104.9 FM has announced that it will present live broadcasts of each of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2014-15 Severance Hall subscription concerts, followed by several rebroadcasts throughout the season. All broadcasts will be streamed live at WCLV.org. Complete broadcast schedule:
CONCERT 1
Sunday, November 23, 2014 at 8 p.m. (LIVE BROADCAST)
Sunday, January 4, 2015 at 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, August 8, 2015 at 8 p.m.
CONCERT 2
Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 7 p.m. (LIVE BROADCAST)
Sunday, May 17, 2015 at 4 p.m.
Saturday, August 15, 2015 at 8 p.m.
CONCERT 3
Sunday, May 3, 2015 at 8 p.m. (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, June 20, 2015 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 8 p.m.
BREAKING: Brett Mitchell to make Blossom debut tonight as last-minute substitution
Brett Mitchell will step in for an indisposed Stanislaw Skrowaczewsi to conduct this evening's Cleveland Orchestra subscription performance at the Blossom Music Festival. The repertoire includes Weber's Overture from Der Freischütz, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 with soloist Francesco Piemontesi, and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. This performance marks Mr. Mitchell’s Blossom Music Festival debut.
2014-15 season announcement: Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
The 2014-15 season marks Brett Mitchell's second as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. In addition to their subscription series at Severance Hall, season highlights include performances at the Ohio Music Education Association's annual conference in February 2015, the opening session of the League of American Orchestras' national conference in May 2015, and a four-city tour of China in June 2015. For more information, please click the "SCHEDULE" page above.
2014-15 concerts with The Cleveland Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a dozen performances during the 2014-15 concert season, his second as Assistant Conductor. After leading a series of education concerts in November 2014, Mr. Mitchell will return to the podium for two performances of classic films with live orchestral underscore: Disney's Fantasia in December 2014 and Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (music by Bernard Herrmann) in February 2015. For more information, please click the "SCHEDULE" page above.
Brett Mitchell to lead Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra on tour of China
Brett Mitchell will lead the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra on a tour of China in June 2015, including performances in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Tianjin, and Beijing. This will be the orchestra's first tour of Asia and their second international tour, following their tour of Europe in 2012. Further details will be announced in Fall 2014.
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.
Western Washington University names Brett Mitchell Young Alumnus of the Year
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Western Washington University has issued a press release announcing Brett Mitchell's selection as the recipient of the university's 2014 Young Alumnus of the Year award. This award, established in 1980, is the most prestigious honor bestowed on a young alumnus.
Mitchell earned a Bachelor of Music in composition from Western in 2001, and will return to WWU to accept this award and lead their orchestra in Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 on June 2, 2014.
Spring 2014 newsletter released
The Spring 2014 edition of Brett Mitchell's newsletter has been released. This edition highlights the significant press coverage surrounding Mitchell's recent last-minute subscription debut with The Cleveland Orchestra, news of upcoming debuts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and at the Blossom Music Festival, and much more. To read (and for the option to subscribe), please click here.
Debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will make his debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a series of three concerts on June 20, 21, and 22, 2014. These programs, entitled “An American Celebration,” will take place at Orchestra Hall (June 20 and 22) and Stony Creek Metropark (June 21). To read more about this program and the DSO's complete summer season, please click here.