NEWS
Preview: Brett Mitchell leads ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ with the Houston Symphony
Brett Mitchell will lead Danny Elfman’s Grammy- and Golden Globe-nominated score for ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ with the Houston Symphony on December 9-10 at Jones Hall.
HOUSTON — The Katy News has published a preview of the Houston Symphony’s upcoming 2023 holiday concert schedule, including several performances led by guest conductor Brett Mitchell.
Guest Conductor Brett Mitchell kicks off the holiday concert season in Jones Hall with the modern holiday masterpiece, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. As the film plays on the big screen above the Jones Hall stage, the live orchestra breathes life into Danny Elfman’s captivating score and the whimsical worlds of Halloween Town and Christmas Town.
Performances will be presented at Jones Hall on Saturday, December 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 10 at 2:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, please click here.
Preview: Pasadena Symphony kicks off 2023-24 season with Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and a nod to Silicon Valley's great inventors
Brett Mitchell will open the Pasadena Symphony’s 2023-24 classical subscription series at the Ambassador Auditorium on October 21 on a program featuring works of Mason Bates, Mendelssohn, and Tchaikovsky.
PASADENA — The Pasadena Symphony has announced details about its opening classical weekend of the 2023-24 season, led by returning guest conductor Brett Mitchell:
The Pasadena Symphony opens its 96th season on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at Ambassador Auditorium with both matinee and evening performances at 2:00pm and 8:00pm. The six-concert series of Classical Music’s Greatest Hits, will open with Tchaikovsky’s fate-filled Symphony No. 4. Highly sought-after conductor Brett Mitchell returns to kick off the 2023-24 season as one of six Artistic Partners to take the podium this season for the orchestra’s Music Director search.
Pasadena’s most anticipated opening night of the concert season will showcase the fresh talent of Armenian Violinist Diana Adamyan on Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. First Prize winner of the 2018 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition and the 2020 Khachaturian Violin Competition, Adamyan has been deemed “one of the new generation’s most promising and gifted young concert soloists” by The Violin Channel.
The 23/24 season ushers in the Pasadena Symphony’s fourth annual Composer’s Showcase, featuring work by emerging and established living composers. The Kennedy Center’s first composer-in-residence, Mason Bates’ Garages of the Valley will open the program, taking inspiration from the great inventors of our time who dreamed up the digital age in the most low-tech of spaces dotting the landscape of Silicon Valley. The magical intersection between music and technology is a central theme of Bates’ work, including his GRAMMY-winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
To learn more about and purchase tickets to these performances, please click here.
Previews: ‘West Side Story’ with The Cleveland Orchestra
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra in Leonard Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story’ at Severance Hall in June 2017. Mr. Mitchell returns to Cleveland lead the project again on March 17, 18, and 19. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
CLEVELAND — In anticipation of Brett Mitchell’s performances of Leonard Bernstein’s score for West Side Story with The Cleveland Orchestra this weekend, several media outlets have published preview articles.
From Axios: Cleveland Orchestra takes on West Side Story
It was good enough for Steven Spielberg, so why not the Cleveland Orchestra?
Driving the news: Guest conductor Brett Mitchell will lead the Cleveland Orchestra through "West Side Story in Concert," this weekend at Severance Hall.
Video from the 1961 Oscar-winning film will play on a screen behind the orchestra.
Zoom out: "West Side Story" has experienced a national resurgence in recent years, starting with a Broadway revival in 2020 and Spielberg's film remake in 2021.
Zoom in: Mitchell, who is an adjunct professor of music at the University of Denver, has led the Cleveland Orchestra in multiple performances of "West Side Story," most recently in 2017 when he was associate director of the orchestra.
What they're saying: Mitchell tells Axios that Leonard Bernstein's music in "West Side Story" is "universal" and "quintessentially American."
"This project premiered in the 1950s. The film premiered in 1961," Mitchell says. "Here we are more than 60 years later still experiencing this piece. It's a total masterpiece."
The big picture: Orchestral performances of mainstream movies have become all the rage.
"It's one of the greatest things that has happened to orchestras in the last century," Mitchell says. "I grew up listening to all these amazing soundtracks, and now I get to bring them to life for thousands of people."
From The News-Herald: Cleveland Orchestra, guest conductor revisiting classic West Side Story movie score
It wasn’t too long ago the notion of The Cleveland Orchestra performing live during a movie screening would have been considered taboo for a world-class symphony.
Those days are long gone, with the renowned orchestra entertaining fans and merging worlds through numerous film experiences, including during its popular Blossom Season.
Next up for The Cleveland Orchestra is a return to the classic “West Side Story,” with guest conductor Brett Mitchell, taking place March 17 through 19 at Severance Music Center.
This is familiar ground for Mitchell, who nearly six years conducted The Cleveland Orchestra through composer Leonard Bernstein’s legendary score.
“The last project that I did with The Cleveland Orchestra in Severance Hall before I left was ‘West Side Story,’” Mitchell said. “It was hugely meaningful to me and an enormous thrill.
“Back then, the orchestra had started doing movies with live accompaniment — I believe it was the first time the orchestra had ever done one of these movie projects on their classical subscription series. Here we are again. It says a lot about these movie projects and how they have become such an integral part of what we do at orchestras now.”
With Mitchell conducting, The Cleveland Orchestra will perform Bernstein’s electrifying score — “Something’s Coming,” “Tonight,” “America,” “I Feel Pretty” and “Somewhere” — while the remastered film is shown on a high-definition screen with the original vocals and dialog.
“I’m watching a special version of the film with lines that run across the picture,” Mitchell said. “Those lines are how we kind of synchronize the live music to the picture. Normally when I’m conducting a piece, I’ve got two things going on: the orchestra in front of me and the score.
“I’m always navigating back and forth. With a project like this, you have the orchestra, you have the score and the video monitor. It’s just one more wrench in the works that can throw you for a loop.”
Naturally, the loop for a project like this comes down to synchronization and timing. The latter is where working with a world-class orchestra makes Mitchell’s job easier. It turns out there’s a certain element of flexibility afforded a conductor when working with The Cleveland Orchestra.
“They’re the greatest musicians in the world,” Mitchell said. “Part of what makes them the greatest in the world is that they’re also the best-prepared musicians in the world. If I need to speed the tempo up ever so slightly, they make it so easy to be able to do that.
“If I need to slow it down ever so slightly, they make it incredibly easy to do that, as well. These film projects can be the most stressful things you do as a conductor because of all the demands of synchronization but when you have The Cleveland Orchestra it really takes all of the stress off you. You just get to focus on making this great music.”
When it comes to the upcoming “West Side Story” affair, the irony — and heresy to some — is this time around some Cleveland Orchestra audience members may be just discovering the original 1961 film.
That’s due to Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning 2021 remake that attracted younger viewers.
“I love it — I think it’s great,” Mitchell said. “So if people have come to ‘West Side Story’ through Steven’s remake of it, which I thought was completely brilliant, I’m thrilled.
“It’s a project that is absolutely worth discovering in every single iteration. They’re both fantastic pieces of art in their own right.”
Preview: 'Celebrate being Home for the Holidays with The Cleveland Orchestra'
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Classical has published a preview of The Cleveland Orchestra’s upcoming 2022 Holiday Concerts, featuring an extensive interview with guest conductor Brett Mitchell:
“Not only is it nice to be back with one of the world’s greatest orchestras, but it also happens to be family because I’ve worked with them for so long,” said conductor Brett Mitchell, who will be leading The Cleveland Orchestra in their upcoming holiday concerts. “You get the best of both worlds — the best possible artistic outcomes featuring these amazing musicians, but also friends and family.”
Holiday Concerts with The Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra Chorus will run from December 8 through 18 at Severance Music Center. Program highlights include selections from The Nutcracker, pieces featuring the Chorus and soprano Mikaela Bennett, audience sing-alongs… Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Each concert will begin with O Come All Ye Faithful. “It starts in almost darkness with just the men in the chorus, and we add everybody slowly but surely,” Mitchell explained. “By the end of the piece, the whole stage and the whole hall are completely lit up. For as many dozens of times I’ve conducted this arrangement, I get goosebumps just talking about it.”
Though the musical aspects of the program alone are magical, Mitchell emphasized that the audience experience and interaction is pivotal. “The simple act of coming to a concert is already kind of embodying that communal spirit, and that’s so special. But then, to have everybody not only with us in the hall but also singing the same carols together — that’s maybe my favorite tradition of all on these programs.”
Mitchell added that it’s not just the audience and the chorus who will be singing. “All you have to do is look up at the orchestra, and you’ll see plenty of musicians singing along with these carols. And you’ll see me singing along too. I’m not just up there mouthing the words — the front stands can tell you that I’m really singing. I do it, not because people need to hear my voice, but for the same reason that everybody else sings along, which is to be a part of this community.
Mitchell elaborated on the importance of making the concerts memorable for every listener. “In many ways, these are the most important performances that we do all year because we’re able to engage people who perhaps otherwise wouldn’t be joining us,” Mitchell explained. “Everybody has their own holiday traditions, and for many people, The Cleveland Orchestra Holiday Concerts are a part of that.”
Each year, a certain man in a red suit pays a visit to Severance. One of the communal experiences the audience can take part in is the opportunity to ask Santa a question. Prior to the concert, listeners can write a question on a piece of paper for him to answer. After the intermission, Mitchell will return to the stage with Santa and ask him the questions from the audience.
“Santa always has funny things to say to the kids and the adults,” Mitchell said, chuckling. “I’m able to look out at the audience and see people with tears in their eyes because they are laughing so hard — and I’m talking about 8-year-olds and 78-year-olds. The purpose of these programs is to bring joy to people’s lives at this time of year. Hearing and feeling 2,000 people laugh together is as good as it gets.”
To read the complete article, please click here.
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Music Center. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Preview: Brett Mitchell returns to the Houston Symphony for a special collaboration
Brett Mitchell will lead a collaboration between the Houston Symphony and the One O’Clock Lab Band in April 2023.
HOUSTON — The Houston Symphony has announced that Brett Mitchell will return for the second time in the 2022-23 season to lead a special collaboration in April 2023:
The University of North Texas’s world-famous One O’Clock Lab Band joins the Houston Symphony and renowned saxophonist Chris Potter for this one-night-only special event! Hear John Williams’s Escapades, a suite for alto saxophone and orchestra based on the popular soundtrack to Catch Me If You Can… To close, the worlds of jazz and classical music collide with a world-premiere work composed by One O’Clock Lab Band® director, Alan Baylock.
The Katy News has published a brief preview of this collaboration:
Committed to exploring and showcasing a wide array of musical genres, the Houston Symphony is combining forces with the University of North Texas’ renowned One O’Clock Lab Band for a unique and memorable evening of jazz and jazz-influenced music-making, Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. in Jones Hall.
Houston favorite Brett Mitchell, returning again this season after leading the Symphony in the score of Disney’s Fantasia Thanksgiving weekend, leads this special concert that culminates in a world premiere performance: a special work composed by famed jazz composer and One O’Clock Lab Band Director Alan Baylock for One O’Clock Lab Band, the Houston Symphony, and saxophone soloist Chris Potter to perform together.
Also on the program, the Houston Symphony performs John Williams’s Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, composed for the Steven Spielberg film Catch Me If You Can, employing the progressive jazz style of the ‘60s in which the film was set.
To learn more and purchase tickets, please click here.
Preview: Brett Mitchell to lead 'Fantasia' with the Houston Symphony
HOUSTON — The Katy News has published a preview of Brett Mitchell’s upcoming performances of Disney’s Fantasia with the Houston Symphony:
This Thanksgiving weekend, the Houston Symphony brings to life the magical classic that’s captivated generations—Disney’s animated film Fantasia. November 25–27, Conductor Brett Mitchell leads the orchestra through the iconic film score while animation fills the giant screen at Jones Hall. Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, families and music-lovers alike can experience the magic of favorites like Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Pomp and Circumstance, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, and, of course, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
Known for its crowning achievement in the history of animation, Fantasia is Disney’s longest animated feature ever made. The film revolutionized the industry by combining animation with a collection of great classical music that sends audiences on a fantastical journey filled with Disney magic. Fans will be thrilled to know that the Houston Symphony has its own unique ties to the film as well; the 1940s version of Fantasia features eight segments of classical music conducted by former Houston Symphony Music Director Leopold Stokowski. Additionally, guests can look forward to seeing the “Blue Bayou” segment as Disney animators originally imagined it for the 1940 release—a languid flight of a pair of whooping cranes above a Louisiana bayou set to the Debussy classic Claire de Lune.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
To purchase tickets to these performances, please click here.
Preview: Sunriver Music Festival returns with new conductor, adds Bend venue
Brett Mitchell poses in the Sunriver Resort Great Hall, one of two venues for the 2022 Sunriver Music Festival. (Photo by Tambi Lane)
BEND, Ore. — The Bulletin has published a preview of the Sunriver Music Festival’s 2022 season, featuring an interview with Brett Mitchell as he enters his first season as Artistic Director & Conductor:
The Sunriver Music Festival returns for its 45th season this week. Given that long and storied history, incoming conductor Brett Mitchell humbly sees himself as one part of a, well, classic classical music series.
“I’m obviously thrilled to be coming on as the artistic director and conductor of the Sunriver Music Festival,” he told GO! Friday. “But I really view my job as — I’m kind of a temporary custodian of a permanent position. This position and this festival predate me, and assuming I do it right, it will postdate me as well.”
The festival opens for its 45th season — and the first of the three Mitchell is signed on for — on Wednesday, bringing live classical music performed by the professional Sunriver Festival Orchestra for concerts over three nights at the new Caldera High School in southeast Bend, as well as SRMF’s longtime home in Sunriver, the Sunriver Resort Great Hall.
Bend audiences will see Classical Concert I (Wednesday, Aug. 10), the Pops Concert (Aug. 12) and the closing night performance, Concert III (Aug. 21). Sunriver will see Classical Concerts II and III (Aug. 15 and 18) along with Cliburn International Piano Competition bronze medalist Dmytro Choni’s solo concert (Aug. 16) and the family-friendly Discover the Symphony Concert (Aug. 17). See “More information” for a more detailed breakdown, along with ticketing info.
Mitchell is excited for the entire season, but one of the highlights for him will occur right out of the gate on Wednesday, when Concert I, in lieu of guest soloists, features pieces that will highlight the Festival Orchestra’s innate talent, some of whom have served long tenures themselves.
“Part of the legacy of the festival is that, even though the artistic director will change from time to time, as it is right now, the musicians are the ones that are making the sound, and they are the constant,” Mitchell said. “They are the constant year in year out, and so this second piece by (Alberto) Ginastera, this wonderful South American composer … instead of being a concerto for a solo instrument and orchestra, this piece is in, like, a dozen little movements. And each one of those dozen little movements is like a tiny concerto for one of the members of the orchestra. So there’s a little flute concerto movement, and a little oboe concerto movement, and it’s a great way for us to be able to feature our musicians as soloists.
“That, for me, was really important to do on the first program, to try to throw back as much focus as I can to the musicians. Some of them have been here for decades,” he added. “I think it’s going to be a really nice way for us to start our official relationship.”
Other things he’s looking forward to are the Pops Concert, which will feature a lot of recognizable music from film, as well as jazz arrangements of George Gershwin and Duke Ellington, to name but two. That concert also features bass-baritone Timothy Jones, a friend of Mitchell’s, who will also be heard during Classical Concert IV on Aug. 21 in Bend.
Mitchell replaces longtime conductor George Hanson, who last led the Festival Orchestra in 2019. Prior to COVID rearing its ugly head, the 2020 festival would have celebrated Hanson’s 10th and final year in Sunriver, a program that would have also celebrated composer Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday.
The enduring festival returned last season, albeit with a slightly downsized orchestra and outdoor performances led by Mitchell and fellow finalist Kelly Kuo, who gave public auditions, as it were, live and in person.
“It was just such a weird time, you know,” Mitchell recalled. “Presenting outdoor concerts is a whole different venture than presenting concerts at the Tower Theatre in Bend or at the Great Hall at the resort here in Sunriver.” Problems with weather and smoke factored in last year.
The prospect of having a new conductor in his inaugural season, along with a full orchestra and a return to indoor venues, one of them new, makes this year special for Meagan Iverson, executive director of SRMF.
Last summer, “we really kept the focus on the music. We didn’t have any of the extras,” Iverson said. “I’m grateful that I have been here through the years prior to COVID, so I do know the flow of things and also how we have just been very creative over the last 2½ years.”
To read the complete article, please click here.
Preview: Sunriver Music Festival summer series presents dynamic duo
SUNRIVER, Ore. — Sunriver Scene has published a front-page preview of the Sunriver Music Festival’s 2022 season, featuring an interview with Brett Mitchell as he enters his first season as Artistic Director & Conductor and an extensive exploration of his long collaboration with bass-baritone Timothy Jones, who will appear on three of the 2022 Festival’s six concerts:
Brett Mitchell met Timothy Jones 20 years ago, working together at the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. They performed a few pieces there together during that first summer (the world premiere of “A Lyric’s Tale” by Maurice Wright and “Eight Songs for a Mad King” by Peter Maxwell Davies) and ever since have continued to work together symbiotically on stage and in life as close friends. They have similar work ethics and passion for what they do.
“Making music is such an intense process that musicians often become instant friends when working together. That said, when the music-making is over, those friendships often fade. But once in a great while, you meet and make music with a kindred spirit who becomes a deeply important part of your life, and that’s who Jones is to me,” said Mitchell. “We’ve been making music and sharing laughter together now for 20 years, and I’m thrilled that our audiences in Sunriver and Bend will get to experience his exquisite artistry this summer.”
To read the complete article, please click here.
Interview: 'Sunriver Music Fest Has A New Face For 2022'
Brett Mitchell applauds cello soloist Amit Peled after his performance of Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto at the Sunriver Music Festival in August 2021.
BEND, Ore. — Source Weekly has published an interview with Brett Mitchell—subtitled ‘PNW native takes baton for 45th concert season’—about his upcoming first season as Artistic Director & Conductor of the Sunriver Music Festival, running August 8-21, 2022:
The Sunriver Music Festival, an annual series of chamber orchestra concerts, welcomes a new artistic director this season, as well as the addition of a brand-new venue. Seattle native Brett Mitchell has a vibrant program lined up for events at Bend's new Caldera High School as well as Sunriver's Great Hall, kicking off with a free movie night outdoors at the resort's Besson Commons on Aug. 8. The Source Weekly spoke with Mitchell this week about the 2022 season and his vision for the future of the festival.
Source Weekly: Welcome to the Sunriver Music Festival. Will this be your first time in Central Oregon?
Brett Mitchell: Surprisingly, yes. It's remarkable because growing up, my family spent a good part of every summer in Grants Pass visiting my grandparents, but we didn't get over to the east side of the Cascades – and it's just stunning. I was here for a week last summer to play for the selection committee.
SW: It looks like this season's lineup has a few "warhorses"–Beethoven's Eroica symphony, Brahms' Violin Concerto and Mendelssohn's 4th–with some interesting diversions in between, like pop and jazz on Aug. 12 and a "piano-centric evening" on Aug. 15.
BM: Yes, it's such a nice program. For the piano-centric concert, we'll feature one or two of the medalists from this year's Cliburn competition (the 16th annual Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, taking place in Fort Worth, Texas, this June). We know it will be a Mozart piano concerto of some kind, because one of the requirements for the Cliburn competition is to perform a Mozart concerto.
For the closing concert, there's this wonderful song cycle by British composer Gerald Finzi, based on songs from five different Shakespeare plays, called "Let us Garlands Bring," sung by my longtime associate and one of my very best friends, bass-baritone Timothy Jones. Before Jones sings, we'll play a five-part instrumental cycle, David Diamond's "Music for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet." It's a really nice kind of Shakespearean first half. The second half will be the Italian Symphony by Mendelssohn, a composer who like everyone else in the 19th Century was also a well-known Shakespeare lover. I think it'll be a nice way to end the season.
SW: I see the pops concert includes "symphonic jazz," which some people would describe as involving a lot of improvisation, while others might think of a more big-band sound. Which will it be?
BM: For the pops performance, the first half is all about film scores, which is a deep love of mine. The first piece is from the Bond franchise which turns 60 this year, a medley of themes from the film series. Next is the love theme from The Godfather movie, which turns 50 this year; then after we meander through some other things, we finish the first half with some John Williams works, closing with one from the movie "E.T." which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. So, kind of a forward timeline of film scores.
For the second half, when we're talking about symphonic jazz, yes, that can mean a lot of different things for different people. I was originally a jazz pianist – I paid for my undergraduate degree at Western Washington University playing in a jazz trio. I conceived of it here as dating back to the ragtime era, so we'll start with some Scott Joplin arrangements. Then when you think about jazzers who crossed over into the symphonic space, I always think of Duke Ellington, so there will be arrangements by Morton Gould of a couple of Ellington tunes. We'll close with selections from George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" score, featuring our bass-baritone Jones.
SW: Will there be any pre-concert talks?
BM: There may or may not be a pre-concert talk, but there will certainly be a decent amount of talking from the podium. It's something I love doing. I like to inspire our audiences by showing them what lights me on fire about a piece. I think the days of walking onstage, conducting, taking and bow and walking off are gone. Audiences want to see the personalities behind the music.
SW: What would you say is your overall hope for this, your first season with the Sunriver festival?
BM: For the last few years, the festival has been very different, largely because of COVID, so the aim this summer is really to reconnect with our community. I hope we're going to have new folks with us who will become permanent fans. I also hope I can connect with the audience on a personal level. I don't walk in with a cape flowing behind me, turn my back to the audience and start in without a word. I'm more of a kind of real person. I don't stand on ceremony – I'm just Brett, and I hope that kind of relatability will help our audiences feel entirely welcome.
To read the complete interview, please click here.
Preview: 'An emotional, intense symphony for tumultuous times'
Brett Mitchell will guest conduct the Pasadena Symphony in two Saturday performances on a program that features Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor. (Photo by Jeff Nelson)
Pasadena, CA — Pasadena Now has published a preview of Brett Mitchell’s upcoming debut with the Pasadena Symphony:
The Pasadena Symphony…will present two performances of Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 on Saturday at the acoustically impeccable Ambassador Auditorium.
The selection befits our times. The symphony is emotionally charged and intense, with lyrical passages, but composed in the dark main key of G minor and hauntingly tragic in tone.
The program also features Adam Schoenberg’s “Finding Rothko” along with Grieg’s Piano Concerto performed by Cuban pianist Aldo López-Gavilán.
Brett Mitchell is the guest conductor…
Mozart’s tumultuous Symphony No. 40 headlines the program, while Aldo López-Gavilán…has been called “genius” by the Seattle Times for his “dazzling technique and rhythmic fire.”
Composers Showcase artist Adam Schoenberg’s “Finding Rothko” has also been described by the Aspen Times as a “colorful orchestration, rich in textures and a sense of power similar to the painter’s work.”
The popular and staggeringly successful Emmy Award-winning and Grammy-nominated composer is currently ranked among the top 10 most performed living composers in the US…
Pasadena Symphony and POPS, Ambassador Auditorium, Saturday, March 19, 2022. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
To purchase tickets for these performances, please click here.
Preview: Brett Mitchell to lead 'Return of the Jedi' with the Houston Symphony
HOUSTON — The Houston Press has published an extensive preview of Brett Mitchell’s upcoming performances of John Williams’s Oscar-nominated score for Return of the Jedi.
The Force is strong as the Houston Symphony presents Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - in concert. The orchestra will play the entire score while audiences watch the battle between good and evil rage on in the final chapter of the original Star Wars trilogy. The program runs Friday through Sunday at Jones Hall.
John Williams’ incredible score - from 20th Century Fox fanfare to closing credits - will be conducted by Brett Mitchell. The impresario returns to the stage after many years after operating as an Assistant Conductor for the Houston Symphony from 2007 to 2011. This marks his first time to lift the conducting baton since the birth of his son, William.
And if there was any indication that Mitchell is the perfect choice to conduct this piece, his son is the proof.
"I'm an enormous John Williams fan, to the point where our little boy's name is Will, but his full name is William John Mitchell. William and John happened to both be family names as well, but it is also no coincidence that that his name is William John, because John Williams has been an enormous part of my life. It's a little bit of an homage to the maestro with with the name," he said.
The show will be a display of artistic athleticism. There is one hour and 54 minutes of music in this film. For comparison, that's 37 minutes more than Star Wars: A New Hope, and 15 minutes more than Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi runs two hours and 17 minutes, which means that only 23 minutes of this movie doesn't have music. Hopefully The Force will be strong with the musicians as well.
Mitchell feels that it will be.
"I have no doubts and no fears that we're going to be able to do this. I have every confidence that it's going to be fantastic, and it is precisely because of the quality and the caliber of Houston Symphony."
To pull off a feat like this, Mitchell and the orchestra don't have much prep time. Yet, depending on how you look at it, Mitchell has been preparing for this nearly his entire life.
"I have done this project before, which helps. That said, the entire score is 527 pages long, and it's almost two hours of music. It's a lot of music to take in. It takes months to really absorb all of this material. But the real trick is, I saw Return of the Jedi as a four year old boy on October 9, 1983. I remember because it was my mom's birthday," he said. "I suppose you could say I've been preparing for this for more than 38 years since I saw the movie. I love John Williams' work and Star Wars in particular."
There will be an intermission in the show, but once everyone is seated for the second act, it's nonstop for the orchestra and conductor afterward.
"Once you get 10 minutes into the second act, from that point forward, there's 58 minutes of nonstop music until the end of the picture. There's no opportunity for the orchestra to break and no opportunity for the for the conductor to break. It's incessant. It's really driving, musically," he said.
"I really hope the audience gets the brilliance of John Williams' music during this concert. When you're watching Return of the Jedi at home, even on the very best of sound systems, or even in the theaters, the music is only one part of the soundtrack. It's competing with dialogue. It's competing with sound effects. And it can get lost, or it can get dialed down. When you're experiencing an orchestra playing this music live, there is such an immediacy to it that you simply cannot ignore," he said. "And the corollary to that is that I hope the audience appreciates what brilliant virtuoso athletic musicians the Houston Symphony is composed of because this is an extraordinary feat to be able to play this score."
To read the complete preview, please click here.
To purchase tickets to these performances, please click here.
Preview: Sunriver Music Festival announces plethora of musical experiences for 2022
Brett Mitchell will lead his first season as Artistic Director & Conductor of the Sunriver Music Festival in August 2022.
SUNRIVER, Ore. — KTVZ has published an article previewing the Sunriver Music Festival’s 2022 summer season, which marks Brett Mitchell’s first as the organization’s Artistic Director & Conductor:
The renowned Sunriver Music Festival enters its 45th season with fresh perspective and talent. We are honored and excited to announce that Artistic Director & Conductor Brett Mitchell will be joining the Festival, plus a plethora of musical talent and excitement before summer arrives….
AND…ANNOUNCING THE DATES FOR THE 45TH ANNUAL SUMMER FESTIVAL: August 9-21 in Sunriver and Bend with Artistic Director & Conductor Brett Mitchell, the Festival Orchestra, and world-class soloists.
“We are deep in the midst of shaping this exceptional inaugural season with our new Artistic Director & Conductor Brett Mitchell,” states Executive Director Meagan Iverson. “I’m thoroughly excited about the musical experiences Maestro Mitchell is crafting for this community.” Watch sunrivermusic.org for sneak peeks as the details come together and start or renew your membership now to get in on early ticket sales for the best seats!
Sunriver Music Festival is committed to expanding the audience for classical music by nurturing the next generation of artistic talent and by presenting a world-class musical experience for Central Oregon residents and visitors.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: Cleveland Orchestra holiday concerts are back
Brett Mitchell discusses The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2021 Holiday Concerts with Spectrum News 1.
CLEVELAND — Spectrum News 1 has published a story about The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2021 Holiday Concerts, including footage from the opening-night performance and an interview with guest conductor Brett Mitchell:
The world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra's Holiday Show is back this season.
'O come, all ye faithful' opens the show, as guest conductor Brett Mitchell leads the musicians and vocalists.
“To be able to have folks come in over the course of a dozen concerts like we’re doing over the next two weeks and to spend some of the holiday season with us, that’s really what this is about," said Mitchell
The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, directed by Lisa Wong, is returning with the orchestra for its first in-person performance since 2020.
Mitchell told Spectrum News there is something different for everyone to enjoy.
There will also be guest vocalist, Capathia Jenkins, and guest choruses joining the stage on different days from such as Cleveland State University, the College of Wooster and Cleveland's Youth Chorus Chamber Ensemble.
Mitchel said the music is a reminder of how people from all different backgrounds can come together and celebrate being one.
“We all consequently grow up with this music. and so it takes everybody back to being a kid again and that for me is what the holidays are all about.”
To read the complete article and watch the video package, please click here.
Previews: Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Classical has published a preview of The Cleveland Orchestra’s upcoming holiday performances, including an interview with guest conductor Brett Mitchell:
“What gets me excited about holiday concerts? Honestly, everything about them,” conductor Brett Mitchell said during a telephone conversation. “Every performance is for the audience, but these concerts really are for them. There’s so much opportunity for banter, and every crowd feels different.”
Mitchell pointed out a favorite quote of his from the late Stephen Sondheim, who said, the audience is the final collaborator. “And that is what we have been missing for the last two years in general, but particularly for this kind of program.”
Beginning on Thursday, December 9 at 7:30 pm, Brett Mitchell returns to Mandel Hall at Severance to lead The Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra Chorus in a holiday program devoted to music of the season. The concert also features director of choruses Lisa Wong as well as vocalist and Northeast Ohio favorite Capathia Jenkins. Performances continue through December 19. See our Concert Listings page for dates, times, and guest choirs. Tickets are available online.
Mitchell noted that the concerts are also a family affair where everyone in the audience gets dressed in their holiday finest. “It’s a special occasion for them, and to look out and see the kids and the magic in their eyes when ‘you know who’ makes his special entrance is so heartwarming.”
The conductor said that this year’s program is full of musical selections that will appeal to everyone. “The longest piece is only seven minutes — the ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ from Nutcracker. So if you’re not into one piece, just wait, because the next one is coming.”
He said that the selections are also intended to evoke the feeling of a homecoming, beginning with the first piece — Oh Come all ye faithful — which by tradition, serves as the opener for the Orchestra’s holiday concerts.
“It starts with just the voices and builds and builds,” Mitchell said. “Then there’s a big key change, and that’s when all the wreaths and bows and all of the other holiday finery lights up. Even though we’ve done it hundreds of times, it always has an emotional effect.”
Asked if he has a favorite piece on the program, Mitchell said that since one of his last projects as associate conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra was leading fully staged performances of The Nutcracker at Playhouse Square, “Waltz of the Flowers” is his sentimental favorite.
“But as a guy who was eleven years old in 1990 when Home Alone came out, getting to do ‘Somewhere in My Memory’ is very special, and it’s one the great holiday songs of all time. And right before that is another piece from Home Alone, ‘Holiday Flight.’ Getting to conduct both of these John Williams songs couldn’t be more exciting. It just takes me back to being an eleven-year-old again every time I hear that music. And if you can’t embrace that during the holidays, I don’t know when you can.”
Read additional brief previews from the Plain Dealer, cleveland.com, WKYC, and ideastream, and watch Mr. Mitchell preview these performances in the video below or on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Previews: Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra's return to Blossom
CLEVELAND — As Brett Mitchell prepares to lead the opening weekend of The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2021 Blossom Music Festival, several news outlets have published previews of this program, excerpted below.
• CLEVELAND.COM •
2021 Cleveland Orchestra Blossom Music Festival calendar: A return to live music
The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2021 Blossom Music Festival kicks off this July 3-4 with a pair of holiday weekend concerts, both capped with fireworks. It’s the first time the orchestra will perform in front of a live audience since March of 2020.
The ensemble will be under the baton of conductor Brett Mitchell, with Michelle Cann as guest on piano. The concerts will be festive, holiday affairs, featuring works by Bernstein, Copland, Tchaikovsky, Sousa and more.
• CLEVELAND.COM •
Grand reunion ahead as Cleveland Orchestra opens 2021 Blossom Festival season
Music lovers aren’t the only ones headed for a major reunion at Blossom Music Center this weekend. No, the Cleveland Orchestra itself is also about to enjoy an important homecoming. When it convenes at its summer home with former associate conductor Brett Mitchell this Independence Day weekend, it’ll be the first time the full ensemble has appeared together since March 2020. “This is quite serious,” said chief brand officer Ross Binnie. “I think it will be extremely emotional. To see so many friends and fans I think will be powerful indeed. I think this will be one concert to say you were at.” …
Even as it celebrates the nation’s 245th birthday with fireworks and traditional favorites like Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” and Tchaikovsky’s “1812” Overture, the orchestra also will take some of its first steps on a new mission to better represent the country as a whole. Much of the 2021 Blossom Music Festival season consists of favorites, pieces Gidalevich called “chestnuts.” … This weekend, though, the orchestra is thinking along much different lines. It’s starting off featuring relatively unsung masterworks: music by three African-Americans, two of them women. In the mix with beloved works by Bernstein and Copland will be “An American Fanfare,” by Adolphus Hailstork; Concerto in One Movement, by Florence Price; and “Soul of Remembrance,” by Mary Watkins. “It’s a hard sweet spot to hit, but we made a concerted effort to make sure this looks more like an American program than in previous years,” [artistic administrator Ilya] Gidalevich said.
• CLEVELANDCLASSICAL.COM •
The Cleveland Orchestra Returns to Blossom Music Center
“The program is titled ‘An American Celebration,’ and while I’m certain there have been countless Fourth of July concerts over the decades with the same name, for me, this program feels truly American,” Mitchell said during a telephone conversation. “We’re certainly not going to ignore the holiday, so there will be the pieces that are associated with it — the 1812 Overture and Stars and Stripes Forever — but there was a desire to have the program be reflective of times that we are living in and that we have lived through since the Orchestra and audiences were last together.” …
Mitchell, who served on the Orchestra’s conducting staff from 2013 to 2017, noted that the evenings will open with Bernstein’s celebratory Overture. “We didn’t want a concert full of sis-boom-bah American repertoire, we wanted to acknowledge where we are and where we have been. And part of where we have been — as if anybody needs to be reminded why the Orchestra has not been able to perform for live audiences for sixteen months — is that we’ve all lived through a very difficult time. But that’s not entirely true because half a million of us did not survive the pandemic. So after the Candide we’ll play this gorgeous, heartbreaking piece, Mary D. Watkins’ Soul of Remembrance.”
The conductor said that he was introduced to the Watkins piece by a member of the Colorado Symphony. “Miss Watkins is a Denver-based African American composer, and when my friend played it for me I thought ‘my, this is beautiful.’” Mitchell described the piece as quiet and in places meditative. “She has a wonderful voice and a wonderful gift for immediate expression. I was only introduced to her music a couple of months ago and I can’t wait to dive into more of it. She seems to have a real knack for being able to communicate directly with the listener. There’s nothing opaque about it.” …
Florence Price’s Concerto in One Movement will feature pianist Michelle Cann, a graduate of both the Cleveland and Curtis Institutes of Music, and who now teaches at Curtis. “The piece is only eighteen minutes long but there’s so much wonderful material it feels like a Brahms concerto,” Mitchell said. “The music is just glorious and my great hope is that it will find its way into the permanent piano concerto repertoire. And it should because it is a sensational piece of music. I can guarantee that people are going to love it.” Click here to read Jarrett Hoffman’s interview with Michelle Cann.
Having had the opportunity to speak to Brett Mitchell on numerous occasions during his time in Cleveland, one thing that always struck me was his unabashed enthusiasm for newly-composed and long-neglected works. “I was a composer before I was a conductor, so I know what it’s like to write a piece and then hope that someone will play it,” he said. “I became a conductor to be the composer’s advocate and Mary D. Watkins and Florence Price deserve to be heard. If I can do anything to help introduce this great music to new ears, that’s the most fulfilling thing I can do.”
• NEW VIDEO RELEASE •
Aaron Copland: Introduction from Appalachian Spring
Mr. Mitchell has also recorded a solo piano arrangement of the Introduction from Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, one of the works featured on the second half of this program. View the complete performance below, or watch on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Preview: Brett Mitchell leads Cleveland Orchestra Christmas from the podium and the keyboard
Published November 6, 2020 Updated November 18, 2020
UPDATE: Due the continued rise of positive cases of COVID-19 in Northeast Ohio, The Cleveland Orchestra has canceled these performances. Learn more.
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Orchestra has announced that Brett Mitchell will return to lead their 2020 Christmas Concerts, marking the orchestra’s first live performances in Severance Hall since March.
Mr. Mitchell will lead the string and percussion sections of the orchestra in such holiday favorites as Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on “Greensleeves,” selections from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and a world-premiere arrangement by Matthew Jackfert of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” Mr. Mitchell will also lead a jazz trio from the piano to accompany Broadway star Capathia Jenkins in several selections throughout the program, including “Let It Snow,” “Grown-Up Christmas List,” and “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town.”
Mr. Mitchell will lead a jazz trio from the piano to accompany Broadway star Capathia Jenkins in several selections throughout The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2020 Christmas Concerts. (Photo by Jeff Nelson)
More details from Cleveland.com:
Many performances are already sold-out to subscribers who held tickets before the COVID-19 pandemic. Several shows, however, still have limited seating for the general public, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Below are the performances with available tickets. All seven take place at 7:30 p.m. at Severance Hall.
Thursday and Friday, Dec. 10 and 11
Sunday, Dec. 13
Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 16 and 17
Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 22 and 23
Guests will be seated with members of their own household, and groups will be separated by empty chairs. All guests will be required to wear masks and submit to a temperature check and health questionnaire at the doors.
Just as the audience will be reduced, so will the forces on stage be smaller than usual. Former associate conductor Brett Mitchell will return to conduct a strings-and-percussion orchestra, with guest vocalist Capathia Jenkins. There will be no Cleveland Orchestra Chorus or other singers.
The program also will be somewhat tighter. Expect a visit from you-know-who but don’t wait for an intermission or an audience sing-along.
For more information and ticket availability, please visit the event page on The Cleveland Orchestra’s website.
Preview: Brett Mitchell conducts Bernstein and Mozart with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Brett Mitchell and Karen Gomyo will perform Bernstein’s Serenade with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
FORT WORTH — The Dallas Morning News has published a roundup of upcoming classical music events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Brett Mitchell’s upcoming debut with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
Led by guest conductor Brett Mitchell, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will perform Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony and Bernstein’s Serenade, with violinist Karen Gomyo as soloist. Audiences will be capped at 800 (about 28% of the venue’s capacity), and masks will be required. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31 and 2 p.m. Nov. 1 at Will Rogers Auditorium, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave. Limited ticket availability, $25 to $85. 817-665-6000, fwsymphony.org.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: Brett Mitchell discusses John Williams's score for 'Return of the Jedi'
Brett Mitchell and host Karla Walker in the Colorado Public Radio studios. (Photo by Hart Van Denburg/CPR)
DENVER — Before leading the Colorado Symphony in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi later this week (Feb. 27-29, more info here), Brett Mitchell sat down with host Karla Walker in the Colorado Public Radio Performance Studio to explore some of the highlights of John Williams's iconic soundtrack.
After reviewing themes from A New Hope (original breakdown here) and The Empire Strikes Back (original breakdown here), Mr. Mitchell explores the new themes Mr. Williams created for characters in Return of the Jedi, including Luke and Leia, the Emperor, Jabba the Hutt, and the Ewoks.
Watch the full video below, or read the complete story on CPR.org: WATCH: The Iconic Musical Themes Of ‘Return Of The Jedi,’ Explained.
Preview: Brett Mitchell leads Beethoven 9 at Red Rocks
DENVER — CPR Classical has published a preview of classical music events around Colorado during summer 2020, including Brett Mitchell’s performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Colorado Symphony and Chorus at Red Rocks, which the station dubs “the classical event of the summer.”
Some of the world’s best classical musicians come to Colorado each summer to perform at music festivals across the state. Free, family-friendly, and ticketed events abound, so get out your calendar and start dreaming about all the inspiring music coming to Colorado in 2020.
July 26, 2020 - Okay, this is not part of a festival, but the music and venue make this the classical event of the summer. The Colorado Symphony celebrates Beethoven's 250th birth anniversary with perhaps the largest force of musicians yet to perform at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, complete with full orchestra, a chorus of over a hundred voices plus soloists under Music Director Brett Mitchell. The spectacle is sure to be an awesome match for the beautiful view of Denver under a first quarter moon, should Beethoven's gloriously thunderous majesty not provoke the heavens during the course of the night.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: Brett Mitchell on the podium for New Year's Eve with the Colorado Symphony
DENVER — The Gazette (Colorado Springs) has published a preview of various New Year’s Eve celebrations in and around the Denver metropolitan area, highlighting Brett Mitchell’s fourth New Year’s Eve program with the Colorado Symphony. Complete details are as follows:
“A Night in Vienna” by Colorado Symphony
When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1400 Curtis St., Denver
Price: $20 to $94; 877-292-7979, coloradosymphony.org
The early concert means you can take in some classical music and still close 2019 out on the town. The Colorado Symphony will present a program of waltzes and marches. Music Director Brett Mitchell will conduct.
On the program, Mr. Mitchell will lead works by Johann Strauss II, Richard Strauss, Mahler, and Tchaikovsky. For more information, please click here.