NEWS
Review: "Truly a quality young conductor..."
"360 Main Street" has published a review of the third subscription concert of Brett Mitchell's inaugural season as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. "Led by Music Director Mitchell, a fine and engaging maestro, there were some glorious moments and times when the ensemble really shone. He is truly a quality young conductor and has a bright future ahead." To read the complete review, please click here.
Brett Mitchell op-ed: "Schools must celebrate music education to build leaders of the next generation"
Brett Mitchell has written an op-ed in today's Saginaw News about the importance of music education in public schools to build the next generation of leaders. To read this op-ed, please click here.
Review: "SBSO's 'American Valentine' better than a box of chocolates"
Janet Martineau has published a review of the second subscription concert of Brett Mitchell's first season at the helm of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. "All the orchestra and its maestro Brett Mitchell had to do was deliver on the goods... and oh my goodness did they ever deliver on the goods. Collectively every single section of the orchestra got its moment to shine. Those strings just ached and shimmered in the Barber. The brass was so bold in the Dvorák. The percussionists bombastic in the Bernstein. And ya gotta love a conductor who follows the full-of-energy, sassy, jazzy, cocky West Side Story Overture with the quiet and introspective Adagio for Strings that just builds from the deepest of the strings to a fevered high pitch of angst so intense one fears the violin strings will snap and break.”
Preview: "Pianos, valentines, and more"
"360 Main Street" has published a preview of two upcoming Brett Mitchell performances: a solo piano recital at Saginaw's Castle Museum on Thursday, February 10, and his second subscription concert as music director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, February 12. To read this article, please click here.
Preview: "3D glasses for the opera: Moores puts the Stars Wars into Magic Flute"
CultureMap has published a preview of the Moores Opera Center's upcoming production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, which opens tonight and runs for four performances through Monday, January 31. To read this article, please click here.
Brett Mitchell's complete Houston Symphony blog contributions
As a regular contributor to the Houston Symphony's blog, Brett Mitchell has penned five entries over the past year. These entries are archived below:
- It's almost showtime! (January 28, 2010)
- Downtime between concert times - what do we do now? (January 30, 2010)
- A celebration of music education (March 1, 2010)
- Wagner, his “Ring” and how Luke Skywalker comes in the picture (September 15, 2010)
- Music inspires faith in humanity (January 15, 2011)
Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra listed on "Top 10 arts events of 2010"
Brett Mitchell's first performance as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra has been listed on Janet Martineau's "Top 10 Arts Events of 2010." "What would [Mitchell's] inaugural concert deliver? Goosebumps and fireworks. Mitchell said in program notes that he 'wanted to make a statement with this first concert.' Well, he and his musicians certainly did that to the rousing cheers of an appreciative audience." To read the complete article, please click here.
Brett Mitchell to co-host two episodes of KUHF's "Music from the Movies"
Brett Mitchell will return to one of his earliest musical loves--film scores--when he co-hosts two upcoming episodes of KUHF's "Music from the Movies." These episodes will air at 7 p.m. CST on Saturday, December 18, and Saturday, January 8, 2011. For more information on "Music from the Movies," please click here.
Brett Mitchell's complete blog archive from Houston Symphony UK
Brett Mitchell was one of six official bloggers for the Houston Symphony's recent tour of the United Kingdom. Mr. Mitchell's three entries are archived below:
- Coming home ... sort of (October 6)
- Whirlwind days and musical nights (October 12)
- Preparing the choruses (October 15)
Preview: Brett Mitchell aims "to make the SBSO a truly 21st-century orchestra"
On the eve of his inaugural concert as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, , Brett Mitchell sits down with 360 Main Street's Jeanne Lesinski to discuss the orchestra's 2010-11 season, and his plans for the organization's future. To read this story, please click here.
Preview: A salute to Mexico's independence
"Inside the Houston Symphony" has published a blog entry previewing their upcoming performance saluting Mexico's independence, led by assistant conductor Brett Mitchell. To read this preview, please click here.
Cover Story: Brett Mitchell takes over at the Saginaw Bay Symphony
On the eve of his inaugural concert as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, , Brett Mitchell sits down with Bob Martin of "The Review" to discuss the orchestra's first season under his leadership and his plans for the organization's future. To read this story, please click here.
Preview: "Houston Symphony hosts its first 'Tweetcert'"
The Houston Chronicle has published a preview of the Houston Symphony's upcoming "Tweetcert." This concert will feature an interactive experience encouraging audience members to enjoy "live program notes" from conductor Brett Mitchell via Twitter throughout the evening. To read this article, please click here.
Preview: "Symphony Summer Series is like a day in the park"
Brett Mitchell is featured in a preview the Houston Chronicle has published about the Houston Symphony's upcoming summer concert series, including his concert with the orchestra this Thursday evening at Miller Outdoor Theatre. To read this article, please click here.
Contract extension with the Houston Symphony
The Houston Symphony announced on Wednesday, May 12 an extension of Brett Mitchell's contract as assistant conductor for a fourth season, ending in May 2011. Mitchell will continue leading the orchestra in its classical, pops, education, and outreach programs throughout the 2010-11 season.
Front-Page Story: "Brett Mitchell to lead Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra"
The Saginaw News has published a front-page story with extensive coverage of Brett Mitchell's appointment as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. To read this article, please click here.
* * * Brett Mitchell named Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra * * *
After a multi-season search process drawing on a pool of over 160 applicants, Brett Mitchell has been named the next music director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, effective July 2010. Mitchell will lead the orchestra in its classical, pops, and education series throughout each season of his three-year contract, which runs through June 2013. To read a story about this appointment that appeared on the front page of today's Saginaw News, please click here.
Lorin Maazel appoints Brett Mitchell assistant conductor of the 2010 Castelton Festival
After participating in last summer's inaugural Castleton Festival as an apprentice conductor, Brett Mitchell has been personally invited by Lorin Maazel to return to the 2010 Festival as assistant conductor and coach. Mr. Mitchell will prepare a new production of Puccini's Trittico (Il Tabarro, Gianni Schicchi, and Suor Angelica), and will share a concert program with Maestro Maazel during the Festival. For more information or to purchase tickets for these events, please click the "SCHEDULE" link above.
Review: "Symphony offering was raw, took risks"
The Peoria Journal Star has published a review of Brett Mitchell's recent guest appearance with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra on their subscription series finale. "The Beethoven, on the other hand, exploded. Symphony No. 7 is step-on-the-pedal, careen-around-the-corner music…and Mitchell and the musicians played it that way. The music hurried, even in the famous elegiac theme-and-variation second movement, now sounding urgent, desperate. Yes, this is majestic music; but Mitchell brought out its feverish, obsessive side as well. The third and fourth movements pulsated not with athleticism but with a crazy relentlessness. Even in the music’s most sublime moments, Mitchell emphasized how Beethoven likes to sneak up on his listeners." To read the complete review, please click here.
Preview: "Symphony candidate sees youth as a plus"
Brett Mitchell, a candidate for the position of music director at the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, leads the orchestra on April 24 at the Civic Center Theater.
The Journal Star (Peoria) has published a profile of Brett Mitchell in advance of his upcoming concert with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra:
Brett Mitchell, the next candidate in the Peoria Symphony Orchestra's music director search, said that a young face at the podium can be a plus.
"If you look at the list of candidates that the Peoria Symphony has brought this season, it's very clear that they are interested in reaching out to the next generation of concertgoers," said Mitchell of Houston, who leads the orchestra in a performance of Beethoven, Prokofiev and the music of contemporary composer Michael Torke on Saturday.
"We're all, relatively speaking, young. I think that's a great way to bring in young audiences. It seems like a superficial thing, but it's not and I'll tell you why. I go home on Monday night, if I can, and I watch 'House' just like everybody else. I'm excited about the last season of 'Lost' just like everybody else. I listen to top 40 radio just like everybody else. I think there is something really important - the relatability of the person on the podium."
Yet Mitchell, 30, is not just an "average Joe" who just happens to have a passion for classical music. Few rising conductors can impress the likes of conductor Kurt Masur, whom Mitchell can claim as a personal mentor and supporter. Connections to Masur led to three years of shuttling back and forth over the Atlantic while serving as assistant conductor for the French National Orchestra. And besides that world-class orchestra, Mitchell has led several other top-notch organizations: the London Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Houston Symphony Orchestra, where he now serves as assistant conductor.
Nevertheless, Mitchell, who grew up in Seattle, hardly projects the image of a rarified know-it-all. His parents listened to not just classical but a variety of music, and he owes his fascination with orchestral sound to John Williams via movies like "Star Wars," "Superman," "E.T." and "Indiana Jones." In fact, for a time Mitchell wanted to be a film composer and studied composition at Western Washington University while taking lessons on his primary instrument, the piano, on which he is basically self-taught after having a few formal lessons when he was 6. (Mitchell broke out on his own because his piano teacher insisted that the young boy learn scales instead of songs.)
When he considered graduate school in music, however, Mitchell switched to conducting - partly because he decided he wasn't a young John Williams in the making. Also, he discovered he preferred collaborating with others.
"Playing the piano is a very solitary endeavor," Mitchell said. "You spend hours and hours alone in a practice room. The culmination of all that practice is that you go on stage alone again. Composition is a very solitary endeavor. You spend hours and hours alone writing your music. Once it's written, it's written. But with conducting - yes, I spend hours and hours alone studying these scores. But the end result is so different. The end result is that I get to work with 60, 80, 100 of my colleagues on these pieces. Then we get to perform them for one or two or three or five or 10,000 people. I'm such a people person. That just speaks to me and makes so much sense to me for who I am as an artist."
Not to mention the added benefit of spending a great deal of time with scores by Beethoven or Prokofiev - composers of genius. What job can be better than that?
After receiving a master's and doctoral degrees in orchestral conducting from the University of Texas at Austin, Mitchell went on to a varied career. Thanks to Kurt Masur, Mitchell received the inaugural Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Scholarship, which meant one-on-one study with Masur and helping the great conductor with concerts in Europe and America. He currently serves as assistant conductor/American conducting fellow of the Houston Symphony Orchestra.
Mitchell said that orchestras can broaden their audiences by being good representatives of their respective cities and regions. Programs, he said, should not be interchangeable: What is played in Chicago should be different from what is played in Dallas, because Chicago and Dallas are different places. For instance, the Peoria Symphony Orchestra might consider playing more music from local and regional composers as well as standards like Aaron Copland's homage to Abraham Lincoln.
"The Peoria Symphony Orchestra's programming should absolutely be reflective of Peoria and Illinois," Mitchell said. "Because otherwise we just become a symphony orchestra that just happens to be in Peoria. That is a huge mistake."
Beyond that, Mitchell would like to see collaborations with other dance, theater and other arts groups - projects he has tried to cultivate in his time with the Houston Symphony.
Mitchell, who also is in the running for the position of music director at Michigan State's Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, said he's ready for a new stage in his career.
"I've had great music director experiences with my own orchestras - but they've been smaller orchestras," Mitchell said. "They've been largely academic orchestras, in a university setting, or a youth orchestra. I've had great professional orchestra experience, including with some of the greatest orchestras in the world. I've conducted the London Philharmonic. I've conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra. I work with the Houston Symphony. These are really sensational orchestras. I feel like the time is right for me to synthesize those two things - that great music director experience that I have and that great professional experience that I have. And become music director of one of the nation's really, truly great regional orchestras."