NEWS
Brett Mitchell returns to lead 7th consecutive New Year's Eve gala with Houston Symphony
Brett Mitchell will return to the Houston Symphony as guest conductor for his 7th consecutive New Year's Eve gala performance, held on December 31 at 8 p.m. at The Centrum. For more information or to purchase tickets for this year's event, entitled "Invitation to the Dance," please click the "SCHEDULE" link above.
Video: Brett Mitchell previews the SBSO's 2013-14 season
Brett Mitchell spoke with Catherine Bodak on this morning's "Better Mid-Michigan" about the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's 2013-14 season, which will be Mr. Mitchell's fourth as music director. To watch, please click here.
Broadcast schedule announced for Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2013-14 season
WCLV 104.9 FM has announced that it will broadcast each of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2013-14 subscription concerts twice, including a live broadcast of their season finale on Friday, May 9, 2014. All six broadcasts will be streamed live at WCLV.com. Complete broadcast schedule:
IN-SEASON BROADCASTS
Sunday, December 29, 2013 at 4 p.m. (November 2013 concert)
Sunday, April 20, 2014 at 4 p.m. (March 2014 concert)
Friday, May 9, 2014 at 8 p.m. (LIVE BROADCAST)
SUMMER REBROADCASTS
Saturday, August 9, 2014 at 8 p.m. (November 2013 concert)
Saturday, August 16, 2014 at 8 p.m. (March 2014 concert)
Saturday, August 23, 2014 at 8 p.m. (May 2014 concert)
Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2013-14 season announced
The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra has announced its 2013-14 subscription season, Brett Mitchell's first as Music Director. Large repertory works include Mussorgsky/Ravel's Pictures at an Exhibition, Hindemith's Symphony from Mathis der Maler, and Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique. The season will also feature collaborations with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus on John Corigliano's Fern Hill and Mendelssohn's Hymn, Op. 96, as well as contemporary fare from Michael Torke and Wojciech Kilar. Works of Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and Beethoven round out the season. For complete information, please click the SCHEDULE link above.
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.
Video: Brett Mitchell previews the SBSO's "Rite of Spring"
Brett Mitchell spoke with Catherine Bodak on this morning's "Better Mid-Michigan" about the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming season finale, featuring a performance of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its premiere. To watch, please click here.
Audio: "Classical Classroom"
Brett Mitchell joins host Dacia Clay for the fourth episode of Houston Public Media's newest program, Classical Classroom. In this episode, Mitchell discusses John Williams's score for Star Wars, illustrating various leitmotifs at the piano, then putting them in context by playing examples from the original soundtrack recording. To listen to this episode, please click here.
Audio: "Rigoletto" interview
Brett Mitchell and director Buck Ross spoke with St.John Flynn on today's edition of KUHA's "The Front Row" about this weekend's performances of the Verdi's "Rigoletto" at the Moores Opera Center. To listen, please click here.
Video: Brett Mitchell's "conducting pointers" at Classical 91.7
Brett Mitchell has filmed a video offering pointers to the contestants as work their way through excerpts from Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" and Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra" in Classical 91.7's "air conducting contest." To view this video, 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.
Cleveland Orchestra press release: "Brett Mitchell announced as new Assistant Conductor"
The Cleveland Orchestra has issued a press release announcing the appointment of Brett Mitchell as assistant conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. To read this release, please click here.
"Cleveland Orchestra appoints Brett Mitchell assistant conductor"
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has published an article about Brett Mitchell's appointment as assistant conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. To read this article, please click here.
* * * Brett Mitchell appointed Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra * * *
The Cleveland Orchestra announced today the appointment of Brett Mitchell as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. The appointment is for a two-year term. Appointed by Franz Welser-Möst, Mr. Mitchell joins the Orchestra’s conducting staff in September, at the beginning of the 2013-14 season at Severance Hall.
As Assistant Conductor, Brett Mitchell will serve as cover conductor for Severance Hall and Blossom Music Festival subscription concerts, and provide assistance to Music Director Franz Welser-Möst. As Assistant Conductor, he will hold the Elizabeth Ring and William Gwinn Mather Chair.
As Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Brett Mitchell will participate in artistic planning, select personnel for the ensemble, and conduct rehearsals and performances of the Youth Orchestra. The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, currently in its 27th season, is a full, 100-member symphony orchestra of middle- and high-school-aged musicians from northern and central Ohio and western Pennsylvania who are coached by musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra. Founded in 1986, the Youth Orchestra provides talented young musicians with a pre-professional orchestra training experience of the highest artistic standard. The Youth Orchestra performs three concerts in Severance Hall each season, as well as three orchestra concerts in the community and several performances by its chamber groups throughout the region.
For complete details, please see this article in the Cleveland "Plain Dealer": "Cleveland Orchestra appoints Brett Mitchell assistant conductor".
Audio: "The Marriage of Figaro" interview
Brett Mitchell and director Buck Ross spoke with St.John Flynn on today's edition of KUHA's "The Front Row" about this weekend's performances of the Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" at the Moores Opera Center. To listen, please click here.
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.
Preview: "Houston Symphony to play at the Centrum"
Brett Mitchell will return to the Houston Symphony as guest conductor for his sixth consecutive New Year's Eve gala performance, held on December 31 at 8 p.m. at the Centrum. This year's concert will celebrate New Year's traditions in America and around the world via both classical and light classical selections. To read a preview article in the Houston Chronicle, please click here. For more information or to purchase tickets for this event, please click the "SCHEDULE" link above.
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.
Preview: SBSO's "A Classical Christmas Returns"
"The Saginaw News" has published a preview article about the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's 2012-13 holiday concert. "A Classical Christmas Returns"--which will feature works by Handel, Korngold, Vaughan Williams, Torke, and more--will be held on Tuesday, December 4, at the Temple Theatre in downtown Saginaw. To read this article, please click here.
Audio: "Salsipuedes" interview
Brett Mitchell and director Buck Ross spoke with St.John Flynn on today's edition of KUHA's "The Front Row" about this weekend's performances of the Daniel Catán's "Salsipuedes" at the Moores Opera Center. To listen, please click here.
"Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra extends music director’s contract"
The Township View 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.