Review: The Cleveland Orchestra performs Stravinsky, Wagner, and more

The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) has published a review of Brett Mitchell's performance with The Cleveland Orchestra at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center on Wednesday, March 4:

The orchestra and the music were of course the main attractions. Still, the effort wouldn't have been half as successful had it not been for assistant conductor Brett Mitchell, whose vivid musical leadership and friendly, unassuming words from the podium resonated with the crowd... A dashing performance of Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmila Overture kicked off the night, seizing the crowd's attention with feats of speed and precision... Stravinsky's Suite from The Firebird, meanwhile, was a case of collective virtuosity. Under Mitchell, the orchestra's strings positively glimmered in slower passages, even as they also tore through such scenes as the Infernal Dance with indomitable zeal... That the crowd appreciated the visit was obvious from the many curtain calls it gave the orchestra and Mitchell.

To read the complete review, please click here.

Cover Story: "Bidding Farewell to a Maestro of Musical Magic"

On the eve of his final concert as music director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, The Review has published a profile of Brett Mitchell, and revisited some of the highlights from his five-year partnership with the orchestra.

Since the SBSO Board of Directors brought Mitchell on board back in 2010, he has consistently set the performance bar higher with each year of his tenure...by carving a proud legacy of superb musicianship, innovative programming, and compelling educational experiences that enrich the cultural climate for residents of the region. In the five short and sweet years that he was at the helm, Mitchell managed to shatter 75-year-old attendance records, achieving the SBSO’s first two sellouts under his direction, which has always been marked by a keen ear for combining and contrasting challenging signature works with the best new compositions being created by contemporary composers.

When asked what he is proudest of accomplishing during his tenure, Mitchell references the manner in which the orchestra has boldly stepped into the 21st century: "The thing I'm proudest of is what a forward-looking organization we've become over the past five seasons. The amount of young people we've brought into the Temple Theatre—people in their twenties and thirties who maybe have never had exposure to live classical orchestral music—is a source of great pride for me."

To read the complete story, please click here.

Preview: "Brett Mitchell prepares for his grand finale with the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra"

The Saginaw News has published an article chronicling Brett Mitchell's five-season tenure as music director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, which comes to a close with their final performance together on Saturday, March 14. To read this article—complete with testimonials from staff, musicians, and community members—please click here.

Review: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra & Chorus: Ravel, Debussy & Fauré at Severance Hall"

ClevelandClassical.com has published a review of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's most recent subscription performance under the baton of music director Brett Mitchell. "As many conductors and orchestras have learned through experience, capturing the essence and style of French music is not easy unless you’ve been blessed with Gallic genes. On Sunday evening at Severance Hall, Brett Mitchell and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Chorus won honorary membership in Le Panthéon with convincing performances of challenging scores by Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy and Gabriel Fauré." To read the complete review, please click here.

Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra to play Bernard Herrmann’s score to Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo on February 13"

ClevelandClassical.com has published a preview of The Cleveland Orchestra's upcoming performance of Bernard Herrmann's score for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo this Friday evening, led by assistant conductor Brett Mitchell. "By now, Mitchell is an old hand at making live music match up with events on the big screen. He led the Orchestra in Herrmann’s score to Psycho last April, and in selections from both the 1940 and 2000 versions of Walt Disney’s Fantasia last December. Those projects resonate with Mitchell’s earliest musical experiences..." To read more, please click here.

Audio: "Vertigo" interview

Brett Mitchell joined radio legend Robert Conrad on WCLV this afternoon to discuss The Cleveland Orchestra's upcoming performance of Bernard Herrmann's score for Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 classic Vertigo. To hear this interview, please click here.

Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra & Chorus to explore French music on February 8"

ClevelandClassical.com has published a preview of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's upcoming subscription concert, the second of their 2014-15 season. The program, led by music director Brett Mitchell this Sunday evening at Severance Hall, will include Ravel's Une barque sur l'océan, Debussy's La mer, and Fauré's Requiem with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus, soprano Marian Vogel, and baritone Nikola Budimir. To read this article, please click here.

Brett Mitchell on Bernard Herrmann

Brett Mitchell recently sat down with Cleveland Magazine to discuss three classic scores of noted film composer Bernard Herrmann. To read this article, please click here. Mr. Mitchell will lead a performance of Mr. Herrmann's score for Alfred Hitchcock's classic Vertigo with The Cleveland Orchestra on Friday, February 13. 

Preview: "Vertigo" at The Cleveland Orchestra

Ohio Magazine has published a preview of The Cleveland Orchestra's upcoming performance of Bernard Herrmann's score for Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 classic film, Vertigo, which will be conducted by Brett Mitchell. To read this article, entitled "New Heights," please click here.

Audio: COYO interview (February 2015 concert)

Brett Mitchell joined host John Simna on WCLV this afternoon to discuss the second subscription concert of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2014-15 season, featuring Ravel's Une barque sur l'océan, Debussy's La mer, and Fauré's Requiem with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus. To hear this interview, please click here.

Blossom debut with The Cleveland Orchestra

The Cleveland Orchestra has announced details of its 2015 summer season at the Blossom Music Center, including two performances led by Brett Mitchell on Saturday, August 1. After leading the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra in Stravinsky's Danses Concertantes, Mr. Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in Dvořák's The Noon Witch and Barber's Violin Concerto with soloist James Ehnes. The orchestras will then combine for a performance of Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. For more information, please click here and here.

Mr. Mitchell made a last-minute debut at Blossom with the orchestra last summer, leading a highly acclaimed program of Weber, Mozart, and Shostakovich. (See reviews here, here, and here.) This performance marks his officially scheduled debut with the orchestra at its summer home.

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra to receive its first-ever national broadcast

The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra will receive its first-ever national broadcast on The Cleveland Orchestra on the Radio on August 8, 2015. Brett Mitchell will lead the orchestra in John Adams's The Chairman Dances, Roy Harris's Symphony No. 3, and Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique. Please check local listings for broadcast times in your region.

Video: Brett Mitchell previews the SBSO's "On the Road Again"

Brett Mitchell spoke with Katie O'Mara on this morning's "Better Mid-Michigan" about the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra's upcoming subscription performance, "On the Road Again," featuring works of Wojciech Kilar, Mendelssohn, Ravel, and Beethoven. To watch, please click here.

Brett Mitchell and The Cleveland Orchestra make critic's list of "Favorite Musical Events of 2014"

"Seen and Heard International" has heralded Brett Mitchell's last-minute substitution with The Cleveland Orchestra in July 2014 as one of their top musical events of 2014: "Cleveland Orchestra assistant conductor Brett Mitchell also augured well for the future with a first-class performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. Perhaps due to its familiarity, the piece is often given exaggerated performances or routine run-throughs, the one overstating the piece’s hidden messages, the other tossing it off as a noisy romp. Mitchell had its measure, catching details that almost every other conductor stomps over, yet doing so with emotion, life, and meaning." To read the complete article, please click here.

Brett Mitchell and The Cleveland Orchestra make critic's list of "Favorite Musical Events of 2014"

"Seen and Heard International" has heralded Brett Mitchell's last-minute substitution with The Cleveland Orchestra in July 2014 as one of their top musical events of 2014: "Cleveland Orchestra assistant conductor Brett Mitchell also augured well for the future with a first-class performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. Perhaps due to its familiarity, the piece is often given exaggerated performances or routine run-throughs, the one overstating the piece’s hidden messages, the other tossing it off as a noisy romp. Mitchell had its measure, catching details that almost every other conductor stomps over, yet doing so with emotion, life, and meaning." To read the complete article, please click here.

Review: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra rises to the occasion in challenging season opener"

The Plain Dealer has published a review of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's first subscription concert of the 2014-15 season. "Music director Brett Mitchell programmed intense and difficult works by John Adams, Roy Harris and Peter Tchaikovsky, and it is to the players' credit that they rose to the occasion, achieving a sort of victory over music that might have defeated a less talented ensemble.... Mitchell drove the ensemble relentlessly through the fiery passages, using body language as well as stick technique to encourage the players to meet and exceed the music's demands. In the more lyric passages, he held back and let the players inhabit the music's florid shape." To read the complete review, please click here.

Review: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra at Severance Hall"

ClevelandClassical.com has published a review of the first subscription concert of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2014-15 season, praising music director Brett Mitchell's "well crafted choices for challenging the young musicians" that resulted in "a completely enjoyable evening of music." To read the complete review, please click here.

Audio: COYO interview (2014-15 season opener)

Brett Mitchell joined host Bill O'Connell on WCLV this afternoon to discuss the first subscription concert of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2014-15 season, featuring works of John Adams, Roy Harris, and Tchaikovsky. To hear this interview, please click here.

Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's plans for new season include tour of China"

The Plain Dealer has published a preview of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2014-15 season, which marks Brett Mitchell's second year as Music Director. The season--which opens on Sunday with a program of Adams, Harris, and Tchaikovsky--will conclude with a four-city tour of China in June 2015, marking the ensemble's first performances in Asia. To read this article, please click here.

Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra opens its season on Sunday, November 23"

ClevelandClassical.com has published a preview of the first concert of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's 2014-15 season, Brett Mitchell's second as Music Director. The season, which culminates with a four-city tour of China in June 2015, will also feature several other high-profile events, including a special performance to open the League of American Orchestras' annual conference in May 2015 in Cleveland. To read this article, please click here.