NEWS
Preview: "The Cleveland Orchestra plans activities for Lakewood, including a free concert"
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has posted a preview of "The Cleveland Orchestra: At Home in Lakewood," "a neighborhood residency that began Feb. 17 when Cleveland Orchestra Assistant Conductor Brett Mitchell visited the Lakewood High School Chamber Orchestra." To read the complete article, please click here.
Review: "Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra soars amid 'The Planets'"
"I have no idea how maestro Brett Mitchell did it, but he made our orchestra sound like twice as many players were sitting up there on the stage, delivered every nuance you could possibly find in the piece, and generally raised hair on the back the neck. The colors in this performance were as brilliant as the sun." To read the complete review, please click here.
Video: Brett Mitchell previews the SBSO's "Final Frontier"
Brett Mitchell spoke with Sarah Jaeger on this morning's "Better Mid-Michigan" about the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming subscription performance, "The Final Frontier," featuring works of John Williams, Pierre Jalbert, Mason Bates, and Holst's The Planets. To watch, please click here.
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Chorus shine in challenging program under Brett Mitchell"
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has released full coverage of Brett Mitchell's three-program weekend at Severance Hall. "Cleveland Orchestra assistant conductor Brett Mitchell capped an unexpectedly eventful weekend at Severance Hall with a fine concert by the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Chorus Sunday night. The previous two nights, Mitchell stood in for Franz Welser-Möst, who was indisposed by illness, and led subscription concerts that included works by Sibelius and various Strausses, as well as Benjamin Britten's sprawling Spring Symphony and a new work by Ryan Wigglesworth, not to mention a star turn by pianist Rudolf Buchbinder in Rachmaninoff's 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.' As if that weren’t enough, there were scheduled rehearsals for Sunday night's COYO concert, which featured repertoire just as varied. The conductor, however, evidenced no signs of fatigue as he came onstage Sunday... One completely lost sight of the fact that these were not seasoned adults performing." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: Cultured Cleveland praises the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
"An all-Brett Mitchell weekend at Severance Hall came to a roaring close on Sunday night with fireworks from the Cleveland Orchestra’s junior ensembles, the Youth Orchestra and Youth Chorus. With Franz Welser-Möst indisposed, Mitchell had to conduct the parent orchestra on Friday and Saturday night – in two different programs. The hat trick on Sunday gave him a chance to show what he can do with his own program and players." To read the complete review, please click here.
Review: Cultured Cleveland hails Brett Mitchell's subscription debut with The Cleveland Orchestra
"The star of the show was the Cleveland Orchestra’s assistant conductor, Brett Mitchell. Like a pinch-hitter in baseball, Mitchell has to be prepared to step up to the plate every week, though he rarely gets the call. When Franz Welser-Möst phoned in sick on Friday afternoon, it was Mitchell’s time to shine." To read the complete review, please click here.
BREAKING: Brett Mitchell returns to Cleveland Orchestra podium tonight
Brett Mitchell will again lead The Cleveland Orchestra on this evening's Severance Hall concert, following his subscription debut last night as a last-minute substitute for music director Franz Welser-Möst. This evening's repertoire includes Lemminkäinen's Return by Sibelius, Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with pianist Rudolf Buchbinder, the U.S. premiere of Ryan Wigglesworth's Locke's Theatre, and Britten's Spring Symphony with soprano Kate Royal, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, tenor John Tessier, the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, and the Cleveland Orchestra Children's Chorus.
BREAKING: Brett Mitchell to step in at this evening's Cleveland Orchestra concert
Brett Mitchell will step in for an ailing Franz Welser-Möst to conduct this evening's Cleveland Orchestra subscription performance. The repertoire includes Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with pianist Rudolf Buchbinder, Don Juan, J. Strauss Jr.'s Aus den Bergen waltzes and the Csárdás from Ritter Pázmán by J. Strauss II. This will be Mr. Mitchell's subscription debut with The Cleveland Orchestra.
Brett Mitchell receives Young Alumnus of the Year Award from undergraduate alma mater
Brett Mitchell has been selected to receive the 2014 Young Alumnus of the Year Award from his undergraduate alma mater, Western Washington University, from which he earned a Bachelor of Music in composition in 2001. This award, established in 1980, is the most prestigious honor bestowed on a young alumnus. Mr. Mitchell will return to WWU to accept this award and lead their orchestra in Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 on June 2, 2014.
Audio: COYO subscription concert preview
Brett Mitchell joined WCLV's Bill O'Connell on this afternoon's drive-time show to discuss the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's upcoming subscription concert, featuring the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus and mezzo-soprano Amanda Russo. To listen, please click here.
Review: "Assistant conductor and University of Texas alum makes his debut in Austin"
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has hailed Brett Mitchell's debut concert with The Cleveland Orchestra as "a smash hit" and "certainly remarkable." To read the complete review, please click here.
Video: Post-concert interview after Cleveland Orchestra debut
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has posted a video interview with Brett Mitchell given moments after his "smash hit" debut concert with The Cleveland Orchestra. To view this interview, please click here.
Debut with The Cleveland Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will make his debut with The Cleveland Orchestra this Saturday, March 1, leading a sold-out concert at the Long Center in Austin, Texas. This marks Mr. Mitchell's first appearance on the podium in Austin since attending The University of Texas from 2001 to 2005. For more information, please click here.
Blossom Music Festival debut
Brett Mitchell will make his debut at the Blossom Music Festival--The Cleveland Orchestra's summer home--in summer 2014, leading the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra in a program of Wagner and Ravel on Saturday, July 26. Additional information can be found in the complete season announcement.
Video: Brett Mitchell previews the SBSO's Tristan, Don Juan, and more
Brett Mitchell spoke with Katie O'Mara on this morning's "Better Mid-Michigan" about the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming subscription performance, "Love Is in the Air," featuring works of Mozart, Strauss, Gershwin, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky. To watch, please click here.
Preview: "Love is in the air for Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra concert"
The Saginaw News has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming, Valentine's-themed subscription concert, featuring works of Mozart, Richard Strauss, Gershwin, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky. To read this article, please click here.
Winter 2014 newsletter released
The Winter 2014 edition of Brett Mitchell's newsletter has been released. This edition highlights the significant press coverage surrounding Mitchell's Severance Hall debut, including a front-page appearance in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, concert reviews, and in-depth personal profiles. To read (and for the option to subscribe), please click here.
Review: "MLK Community Open House at Severance Hall"
ClevelandClassical has published a review of Brett Mitchell's performance with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra that concluded Severance Hall's 2014 MLK Community Open House. "They brilliantly feted Dr. King with two separate Festive Overtures, by Shostakovich and African-American composer William Grant Still. 'Engelkonzert,' the first movement of Paul Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler Symphony, which COYO will perform in its entirety on March 9, glowed and surged... The performance and open house ended in suitably glorious fashion with the triumphant 'Great Gate of Kiev,' from Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition." To read the complete review, please click here.
Brett Mitchell delivers Super Bowl pick in Cleveland Plain Dealer
The Cleveland Plain Dealer recently polled "Notable Northeast Ohioans" for their pick to win Super Bowl XLVIII, and asked Brett Mitchell to weigh in. Mitchell, a Seattle native, unsurprisingly picked the Seahawks to top the Denver Broncos, 30-27, capturing their first Super Bowl victory in franchise history. To read the complete article, please click here.
Preview: "Saginaw artist's paintings add depth to Saginaw Symphony's 'A Tale of Two Nutcrackers'"
The Saginaw News has published a preview of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming annual holiday spectacular, which will feature a world-premiere, Nutcracker-based multimedia collaboration between the orchestra and local visual artist Kellie Schneider. To read this article, please click here.