NEWS
Brett Mitchell on Lorin Maazel in the Plain Dealer
Brett Mitchell released a statement to the Cleveland Plain Dealer upon the passing of Lorin Maazel, with whom Mitchell studied and worked at the Castleton Festival: "Audiences and orchestras know Maestro Maazel's on-podium demeanor as demanding, exacting, and precise, but my personal experiences with him revealed a man of great passion, wit, intelligence, and generosity." To read the complete article, please click here.
Video: Brett Mitchell calls the shots in the broadcast control room
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture has published a behind-the-scenes video of the control room during a live Cleveland Orchestra video broadcast. In this segment (featuring John Williams's March from Superman), Brett Mitchell calls the shots (literally) as Assistant Director. To watch this video, please click here.
2014-15 season announcement: Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
The 2014-15 season marks Brett Mitchell's second as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. In addition to their subscription series at Severance Hall, season highlights include performances at the Ohio Music Education Association's annual conference in February 2015, the opening session of the League of American Orchestras' national conference in May 2015, and a four-city tour of China in June 2015. For more information, please click the "SCHEDULE" page above.
2014-15 concerts with The Cleveland Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a dozen performances during the 2014-15 concert season, his second as Assistant Conductor. After leading a series of education concerts in November 2014, Mr. Mitchell will return to the podium for two performances of classic films with live orchestral underscore: Disney's Fantasia in December 2014 and Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (music by Bernard Herrmann) in February 2015. For more information, please click the "SCHEDULE" page above.
Brett Mitchell to lead Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra on tour of China
Brett Mitchell will lead the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra on a tour of China in June 2015, including performances in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Tianjin, and Beijing. This will be the orchestra's first tour of Asia and their second international tour, following their tour of Europe in 2012. Further details will be announced in Fall 2014.
2014-15 season announcement: Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra
The Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2014-15 season, which marks Brett Mitchell's fifth and final season as music director. In addition to the orchestra's complete classical subscription series, Mr. Mitchell will lead various education, holiday, Pops, and chamber orchestra concerts. His final performance in April 2015 will feature works by the same three composers with which he opened his tenure in September 2010: Kevin Puts ("...this noble company"), Mozart (concert arias with bass-baritone Timothy Jones), and Mahler (Symphony No. 5). For more information, please click the "SCHEDULE" page above.
Video: Brett Mitchell in today's New York Times
Footage of Brett Mitchell's last-minute subscription debut with The Cleveland Orchestra appears in an article in today's New York Times: "Finding Tomorrow’s Classical Fans." Mr. Mitchell leads the orchestra in Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with pianist Rudolf Buchbinder and J. Strauss II's Csárdás from Ritter Pázmán. To watch this video, please click here.
"Brett Mitchell ('01) earns Young Alumnus of the Year"
Western Washington University has issued a press release announcing Brett Mitchell's selection as the recipient of the university's 2014 Young Alumnus of the Year award. To read this press release, please click here.
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.