NEWS
Contract extension with the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra
The Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra has extended Brett Mitchell's initial contract as music director for an additional three seasons, taking their collaboration through the 2015-16 season. Mitchell has been music director of the SBSO since July 2010. For more on this story, please click here and here.
"SBSO conductor Brett Mitchell signs on for three more years"
The Saginaw News has published an article detailing Brett Mitchell's three-year contract extension as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. To read this article, please click here.
Return engagement with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will return to guest conduct the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra on their 2012-13 holiday family concert on Sunday, December 9, 2012. For more information, or to purchase tickets for this event, please click the "SCHEDULE" link above.
Preview: "French composers take SBSO's Brett Mitchell into his third season"
"The Saginaw News" has published a preview article about the first concert of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's 2012-13 season. "A Parisian Soirée"--which will feature works by Chabrier, Bizet, Ravel, and Debussy--will be held on Saturday, September 29, at the Temple Theatre in downtown Saginaw. To read this article, please click here.
Brett Mitchell advances to semifinal round of Solti Conductors' Competition
Out of more than 400 applicants and 22 first-round competitors, Brett Mitchell has been selected as one of only 10 conductors to participate in the semifinal round of the 6th International Conductors' Competition Sir Georg Solti. This semifinal round will take place on September 19 and 20, 2012, with The Frankfurt Radio Symphony.
Preview: SBSO's 2012-13 season ("The Review")
The cover story of the current issue of The Review features an in-depth interview with Brett Mitchell, as he previews of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming 2012-13 concert season. To read this story, "A Visionary Baton Wielding World Class Attention," please click here.
Preview: SBSO's 2012-13 season ("The Saginaw News")
The Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's 2012-13 season, "Musical Journeys," is previewed in today's edition of The Saginaw News. To read this article, which includes an in-depth interview with music director Brett Mitchell, please click here.
2012-13 concerts with the Houston Symphony
Brett Mitchell will return to the Houston Symphony as guest conductor for three programs during their 2012-13 season. He will first lead the orchestra's 19th annual season preview ("Open House") in August. He will then lead "Lunada"--the orchestra's annual celebration of Latin American music--in October. Finally, he will return for his sixth consecutive New Year's Eve Gala in December. For more information or to purchase tickets for these events, please click the "Schedule" link above.
Brett Mitchell invited to participate in Solti Conductors' Competition
Out of more than 400 applicants, Brett Mitchell has been selected as one of only 22 conductors to compete in the 6th International Conductors' Competition Sir Georg Solti. This competition will take place between September 17 and 23, 2012, in Frankfurt, Germany, with both the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester and The Frankfurt Radio Symphony. For more information, please click the "SCHEDULE" link above.
Preview: "Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra Announces Its 2012-13 Season"
The Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's 2012-13 concert season, which will mark Brett Mitchell's third as music director. To read this preview, please click here.
Preview: "'Lucky coincidence' brings Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts to SBSO"
The Saginaw News has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming season finale, which will feature a performance of newly named 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts's Third Symphony. "A Heroic Finale"--which will also feature Beethoven's Eroica Symphony--will be held on Saturday, May 12, at the Temple Theatre in downtown Saginaw. To read this article, please click here.
* * * Brett Mitchell named Music Director of the Moores Opera Center * * *
After serving as guest conductor for five productions over the past three seasons, the Moores Opera Center in Houston has just appointed Brett Mitchell as Music Director, effective September 2012. Mitchell will lead the company in up to four fully staged works each season throughout his initial three-year contract. Mitchell will also serve as Assistant Professor on the Moores School of Music faculty at the University of Houston throughout this appointment.
Video: Short film promotes Houston Symphony concerts
The Houston Symphony has produced a short film promoting Brett Mitchell's upcoming Pops subscription weekend featuring the works of Cole Porter and George Gershwin. To watch this video, please click here.
Preview: "Music of 'Jaws,' 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' helps SBSO take audience to the movies"
The Saginaw News has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming Pops concert, "The Music of John Williams: An 80th-Birthday Celebration." To read this article, please click here.
Review: "SBSO collaboration with artist Kellie Schneider a winner on all counts"
The Saginaw News has published a review of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's most recent subscription concert. "The stage fell silent as Mitchell took a seat at the piano. The spotlight found him there as he pulled the rise and fall of Johannes Brahms’ Intermezzo from the keys, the lush melody sweeping across the underlying groundwork of the deeper tones. Even more, it caught Mitchell’s love of the piece, the emotion swelling through the work as we saw him, as he promised, with fresh eyes.... A running series of standing ovations screamed for an encore, and as this was a night of surprises, the [Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra] delivered on that note, too…drawing still another round of thunderous applause." To read the complete review, please click here.
Preview: "SBSO joins local artist Kellie Schneider in a fairy-tale of a concert"
The Saginaw News has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming subscription concert, which will feature eight world-premiere illustrations by local artist Kellie Schneider to accompany Maurice Ravel's Suite from Mother Goose. To read this article, please click here.
The Great American Songbook with the Houston Symphony
Brett Mitchell returns to the Houston Symphony for the sixth time this season to lead a weekend of Pops subscription performances celebrating the Great American Songbook. Mr. Mitchell and guest vocalists Jennifer Hope Wills and Ryan Silverman will perform selections by George Gershwin and Cole Porter at Jones Hall on April 27, 28, and 29. For more information or to purchase tickets for these events, please click the "SCHEDULE" link above.
Review: "Saginaw's 'Shakespearean Dreams' a true testament to the power of collaboration"
The Saginaw News has published a review of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's most recent subscription concert, featuring a semi-staged production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Mendelssohn's Overture and complete Incidental Music. "Last May, when conductor Brett Mitchell closed the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra season with an eye-opening performance of Beethoven’s Ninth, his father warned him that he’d set the bar dangerously high for coming concerts. Saturday, Mitchell kicked it out of the stratosphere. Nothing could have prepared the Temple Theatre audience for the realization of 'Shakespearean Dreams,' the collaboration of the symphony, the Saginaw Choral Society and Pit and Balcony Community Theatre that somehow melded into an explosion of the senses." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: "Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra presents a fun ode to Shakespeare"
Janet Martineau has published a review of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's most recent subscription concert, featuring a semi-staged production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Mendelssohn's Overture and complete Incidental Music. "And it probably goes without saying now, [as evidenced throughout] his short career here, that Mitchell conducted Mendelssohn’s wonderful score flawlessly." To read the complete review, please click here.
Preview: "Saginaw arts scene promises a triple-threat blend of music, voice, and theater in 'Shakespearean Dreams'"
The Saginaw News has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming subscription concert, titled "Shakespearean Dreams." This performance, featuring a staged production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Mendelssohn's Overture and complete Incidental Music, will be held on Saturday, February 11, at the Temple Theatre in downtown Saginaw. To read this article, please click here.