NEWS
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra concludes season in bright, joyous manner"
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has published a review of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Brett Mitchell's final performance of their first season together. "COYO had what can only be termed a blast as it romped through this fifty-minute showpiece [Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique"]. At the inevitable ovation, Mitchell repeatedly singled out players for bows, but declined to take a bow of his own, instead passing along all credit to the orchestra, which in truth had more than earned it." To read the complete review, please click here.
Audio: Intermission interview (2013-14 COYO season finale)
Brett Mitchell and violinist Ann Yu spoke with John Simna during the intermission of this evening's live broadcast on WCLV of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's season finale. To listen, please click here.
Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra, city advocates looking forward to busy week 'At Home in Lakewood'"
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has published an article about The Cleveland Orchestra's upcoming residency in Lakewood, Ohio, including Brett Mitchell's various contributions to the project. To read this article, please click here.
Audio: COYO interview (2013-14 season finale)
Brett Mitchell and violinist Ann Yu joined WCLV's Jacqueline Gerber on this morning's drive-time show to discuss the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's upcoming season finale, featuring music of Torke, Prokofiev, and Berlioz. To listen, please click here.
Spring 2014 newsletter released
The Spring 2014 edition of Brett Mitchell's newsletter has been released. This edition highlights the significant press coverage surrounding Mitchell's recent last-minute subscription debut with The Cleveland Orchestra, news of upcoming debuts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and at the Blossom Music Festival, and much more. To read (and for the option to subscribe), please click here.
Debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will make his debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a series of three concerts on June 20, 21, and 22, 2014. These programs, entitled “An American Celebration,” will take place at Orchestra Hall (June 20 and 22) and Stony Creek Metropark (June 21). To read more about this program and the DSO's complete summer season, please click here.
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra gives seamless performance of Herrmann's 'Psycho' score"
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has published a review of Brett Mitchell and The Cleveland Orchestra's live performance of Bernard Herrmann's score to accompany a screening of "Psycho": "Mitchell conducted with precision and a good ear for balances, within the ensemble and with the soundtrack of the movie. The players were exceptionally fine, the proof of which was their complete integration with the movie: you forgot, as you watched Hitchcock's nasty shocker unspool, that there was a live orchestra onstage." To read the complete review, please click here.
2014-15 to be Brett Mitchell's fifth and final season with Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra
Brett Mitchell has announced that the 2014-15 season will be his last as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. "With my increasingly busy schedule as Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra, Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and a growing list of guest conducting engagements, the time is right for me to move on to new opportunities and for our audience to experience the fresh perspective of new artistic leadership."
Since Mitchell began as the SBSO's ninth Music Director in 2010, the orchestra has set record attendance (including the first sell-outs in their 80-year history), pursued dozens of collaborations with local arts organizations and internationally renowned artists, established a special focus on contemporary American music, and founded a new chamber orchestra series.
For more information, please read this article in the Saginaw News.
Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra books a night at the Bates Motel with live 'Psycho' performance"
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has published a preview of Brett Mitchell and The Cleveland Orchestra's upcoming performance of Bernard Herrmann's complete score for Psycho with the premiere screening of the film in Severance Hall. To read this article, please click here.
Audio: Cleveland Orchestra interview (Psycho)
Brett Mitchell spoke with WCLV's Mark Satola this afternoon about The Cleveland Orchestra's upcoming presentation of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with a live performance of Bernard Herrmann's score. To listen, please click here.
Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra to offer free public concert with Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra"
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has published a preview of the upcoming side-by-side performance of The Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, which will be conducted by Brett Mitchell. To read this article, please click here.
Video: Brett Mitchell stars with Houston Symphony in "A Soundtrack for the City"
"A Soundtrack for the City," an original short film dedicated to the promotion of Houston and its creative community, features an original score recorded by Brett Mitchell and the Houston Symphony, whose performance appears throughout. To view this film, please click here.
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.