NEWS
Audio: Brett Mitchell discusses John Williams with "Comic Book Central"
Brett Mitchell is featured in the current episode of Comic Book Central, discussing the music of John Williams in advance of his performances this weekend of Raiders of the Lost Ark with The Cleveland Orchestra. From Comic Book Central:
Indiana Jones and Superman are coming to musical life in Cleveland! On this special bonus episode of Comic Book Central, I sit down with the conductor and the artistic administrator of the Cleveland Orchestra, Brett Mitchell and Ilya Gidalevich, to chat about two action-packed events – Raiders of the Lost Ark: In Concert and Superman at the Symphony!
To listen to or download this episode, please click here.
Debut with the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will make his debut with the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra during the 2016-17 season, leading a performance at the orchestra's home of Kulas Hall on Wednesday, February 15. Repertoire for this program will be announced in Fall 2016. For additional information, please see the event page and the 2016-17 CIM Concert Guide.
Video: Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra
Complete video of Brett Mitchell's recent concert with The Cleveland Orchestra is available for on-demand streaming worldwide until Thursday, August 18. To watch this performance, please click here.
0:00 [Introduction]
1:25 BERNSTEIN - Overture from Candide
6:35 [Remarks]
10:15 WILLIAMS - Air and Simple Gifts
16:05 SMALLWOOD (arr. Panion) - Total Praise
20:30 HAWKINS (arr. Panion) - Oh Happy Day
25:05 GERSHWIN - An American in Paris
44:30 [Remarks]
46:00 COPLAND - Lincoln Portrait (Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon, narrator)
1:02:10 [Remarks]
1:03:15 JOHNSON (arr. Smith) - Lift Every Voice and Sing
To view a story about this event that appeared on WVIZ/PBS's ideas, please click here.
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra inspires vigorous response at Hough Neighborhood Residency concert"
Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon made a guest appearance with the Cleveland Orchestra and conductor Brett Mitchell Thursday, Aug. 11 at East Professional Center, as the narrator in Copland's "Lincoln Portrait." (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) has published a review of Brett Mitchell's performance last night with The Cleveland Orchestra:
A vibrant, animated account of Gershwin's "An American in Paris" held down the classical fort, whisking off listeners to a now-faraway place and time when jazz when was young and incorporating it in concert music was gutsy and novel...
From the realm of Broadway, meanwhile, came Bernstein's Overture to "Candide." By way of a community concert opener, it was arguably the best of all possible selections, rife with catchy tunes and brought to life with abundant affection and sparkle.
No less evocative was Copland's "Lincoln Portrait." The orchestra turned in a momentous performance, and Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon proved a natural narrator, rendering the timeless text with vigor and heartfelt emotion. Also in this vein: John Williams' "Air and Simple Gifts," a moving adaptation of the Shaker hymn famously performed at the inauguration of President Obama.
To read the complete review, please click here.
"Meet the seven candidates vying to lead the Boise Philharmonic"
Brett Mitchell is one of seven conductors scheduled to lead the Boise Philharmonic during its 2016-17 season. (Photo illustration by Lindsie Bergevin)
The Idaho Statesman has published a feature about the seven conductors leading the Boise Philharmonic during its 2016-17 search for a new music director, concluding with Brett Mitchell in April 2017:
Brett Mitchell owes a lot to his high school music teacher Lesley Moffat. She encouraged him to get up in front of his peers and conduct his own composition when he was 16.
“She was an amazing, amazing teacher,” Mitchell says.
Mitchell, 37, started piano as a kid and originally pursued the pianist and composer route. But the more he went down that path, the lonelier it became.
“As a pianist you spend so much time alone practicing, and the end result is going on stage alone,” Mitchell says. “As a conductor, you spend time alone, but then you get together with 80 of your colleagues and play music. At the end of the day, I’m a people person.”
Mitchell seeks to make classical music accessible to everyone.
“Some people think of classical as this stuffy unapproachable genre,” he says. “If you’re in New York City, there are opportunities to hear great orchestral music every night. It’s regional centers, like Boise, that are geographically isolated, that need to have access to this music.”
To read the complete article, please click here.
A second article, "Boise Philharmonic embarked on a wide search for its new leader," details the search process the orchestra the orchestra went through to arrive at these seven conductors.
Audio: Brett Mitchell discusses upcoming Cleveland Orchestra performance
Brett Mitchell at the ideastream studios on Wednesday, August 10. (Photo by Angela Mitchell)
Brett Mitchell spoke with Mark Satola on WCLV Classical 104.9 this afternoon about The Cleveland Orchestra's concert tomorrow evening, which marks the culmination of the orchestra's summer-long residency in the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland. To hear this interview, please click here.
Reviews: Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra
Several media outlets have published reviews of Brett Mitchell's performance with the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra last Saturday evening:
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland): Mitchell and his Kent State University charges gave a well-paced and nicely balanced reading of Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 in F major, making of it so much more than simply an amuse-bouche before the main event.
• • • • •
Cleveland Classical: Andrew Norman’s The Great Swiftness saturated the stage with its architecturally inspired soundscape. The five-minute work tests the endurance of the ensemble, but the Kent/Blossom students never wavered, demonstrating Norman’s orchestrational feats of range, dynamics, and long tones. Another notable technique was the use of bass bows on the antiphonal vibraphones, whose sound forged a metallic sheen that glinted and gleamed throughout the pavilion.
Beethoven’s penultimate symphony, the second he had written in F Major, was a fitting choice for the chamber orchestra. While it’s firmly in the standard repertoire, Mitchell and the Kent/Blossom ensemble brought a freshness to the piece that is not often heard. Their spirited presentation and the perfect balance between winds and strings were especially refreshing.
The pairing of The Great Swiftness with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 seemed naturally symbiotic. The well-executed dynamics in the Beethoven could be perceived as a macro motive, an overarching structure similar to the soundscape in the Norman.
• • • • •
Bachtrack: Mitchell led credible performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in F major and The Great Swiftness by the young American composer Andrew Norman. Norman’s work, inspired by Alexander Calder’s 1969 large public sculpture La Grande Vitesse in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is tonal, angular, and attractive. For the Beethoven, Mitchell chose brisk tempos and clear textures, mirroring the model of the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra’s sponsoring organization.
Preview: Cleveland Orchestra plays in Hough
Cleveland Scene has published a preview of Brett Mitchell's upcoming concert with The Cleveland Orchestra:
On Thursday, August 11 at 7:30 pm, the Orchestra will play a free Neighborhood Residency Concert at East Technical Auditorium in Hough, led by associate conductor Brett Mitchell. Word has it that all the tickets have already been distributed, but you can take your chances and line up for open seats at 7:15 pm. You can also tune in to WCLV 104.9 FM, or catch a webcast at clevelandorchestra.com or ideastream.org.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Cleveland Orchestra announces program details for Hough concert
The Cleveland Orchestra has announced the program for the free community concert for the Orchestra's "At Home" in Hough neighborhood residency on Thursday, August 11, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. at East Professional Center. The concert, led by Cleveland Orchestra Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell, includes Bernstein’s Overture to Candide, John Williams’s Air and Simple Gifts, Smallwood’s Total Praise, an arrangement of Oh Happy Day, J. Rosamond Johnson’s Lift Every Voice and Sing, Gershwin’s An American in Paris, and Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, which will be narrated by Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon.
The concert will be video streamed live online at www.clevelandorchestra.com and www.ideastream.org, and available for viewing through August 18, 2016. A live radio broadcast of the concert will air on WCLV Classical 104.9, and a delayed television broadcast will air on WVIZ/PBS on Friday, August 12 at 9:00 p.m. The television broadcast will repeat Sunday, August 14 at 3:00 p.m.
“All of us at The Cleveland Orchestra are so excited to spend time with our neighbors in Hough,” said Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell. “Our culminating concert will reflect the history of this extraordinary community, a deeply inspiring American story that we’ll celebrate through great American music. We’ll feature orchestral works by Leonard Bernstein, John Williams, George Gershwin, and Aaron Copland, and I'm particularly pleased that we'll have the opportunity to perform Lift Every Voice and Sing, Total Praise, and Oh Happy Day with our friends in the Hough Community Chorus.”
To read the complete news release, please click here.
Preview: "Cleveland Orchestra, Museum of Art seek to make 'partners forever' with Hough residency"
The Cleveland Orchestra appeared at Our Lady of Lourdes Church during its 2015 residency in the Broadway Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland. This year the group will give a free concert in the Hough neighborhood. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) has published a preview of The Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Museum of Art's upcoming joint residency in Hough, a neighborhood just west of both institutions' homes in University Circle:
The centerpiece of the residency is a free community concert Thursday, Aug. 11, tickets to which are still available. On that night, associate conductor Brett Mitchell will lead the orchestra in a performance similar in spirit to its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Concert.
To read the complete article, please click here.
Preview: Brett Mitchell leads the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra
Cool Cleveland has published a brief preview of Brett Mitchell's performance on Saturday, July 30, a double bill of the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra:
The Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra conducted by Brett Mitchell opens the evening with Andrew Norman’s 2010 “The Great Swiftness” and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8.
To read the complete article, please click here.
Preview: Colorado Symphony debut
The Denver Post has published a preview of Brett Mitchell's upcoming debut with the Colorado Symphony:
Yes, this Colorado Symphony event at Boettcher Concert Hall is a marketing effort disguised as a free concert. But let me break that down: Free concert. Colorado Symphony. Boettcher Concert Hall. Get your tickets in advance and fast, and get a look at conductor Brett Mitchell, who comes along just as the CSO is shopping for a new music director.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Schedule announced for upcoming Cleveland Orchestra residency
Associate conductor Brett Mitchell, seen here conducting the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall, will preside over the centerpiece of the upcoming Hough Neighborhood Residency, a free community concert Thursday, Aug. 11. (Roger Mastroianni)
The Cleveland Orchestra has announced details about its upcoming neighborhood residency, including the culminating concert led by associate conductor Brett Mitchell:
This summer, The Cleveland Orchestra will join with the Cleveland Museum of Art to celebrate music and art in Hough, a historic neighborhood east of downtown Cleveland. This new partnership between two of Ohio’s premier cultural organizations is designed to create partnerships with communities to develop new and meaningful ways to enliven our community with arts and music.
A highlight of the activities in Hough is a free public concert by The Cleveland Orchestra, led by Cleveland Orchestra associate conductor Brett Mitchell, at East Professional Center on Thursday, August 11, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. A live radio broadcast of the concert will air on WCLV Classical 104.9 ideastream®, and a delayed television broadcast will air on WVIZ/PBS on Friday, August 12 at 9:00 p.m. and will repeat Sunday, August 14 at 3:00 p.m.
To read the complete news release, please click here. To read a preview in The Plain Dealer about this residency, please click here. To read Cleveland Scene's preview, please click here.
Previews: "Cleveland Orchestra, Museum of Art release program and ticket details of Hough Residency"
Associate conductor Brett Mitchell, seen here conducting The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall, will preside over the centerpiece of the upcoming Hough Neighborhood Residency, a free community concert Thursday, Aug. 11. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) and Cleveland Scene have published previews of The Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Museum of Art's upcoming Hough Neighborhood Residency, including details of the culminating concert on Thursday, August 11, led by associate conductor Brett Mitchell.
To read The Plain Dealer's preview, please click here. To read Cleveland Scene's preview, please click here.
For those that cannot attend in person, a live radio broadcast of the August 11 concert will air on WCLV Classical 104.9 at 7:30 p.m. (which may be streamed worldwide at this link), and a delayed television broadcast will air on WVIZ/PBS on Friday, August 12 at 9:00 p.m., repeating on Sunday, August 14 at 3:00 p.m.
Summer 2016 newsletter released
The Summer 2016 edition of Brett Mitchell's newsletter has been released. This edition highlights upcoming and recent performances with The Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and more. To read and/or subscribe, please click here.
Debut with the Texas Music Festival
Brett Mitchell will return to Houston in June 2017 to make his debut with the Texas Music Festival Orchestra, leading Esa-Pekka Salonen's L.A. Variations, Elgar's Enigma Variations, and a concerto to be determined at a future date. Mr. Mitchell will conduct two performances of this program: the first at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands on Friday, June 23, and the second at the Moores Opera House in Houston on Saturday, June 24.
Review: "Cleveland Orchestra marks museum centennial with festive but heavy public concert"
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) has published a review of Brett Mitchell's performance yesterday with The Cleveland Orchestra at the Cleveland Museum of Art, celebrating the latter's centennial:
Brett Mitchell leads The Cleveland Orchestra at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Sunday, June 26. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
As host and chief interpreter, associate conductor Brett Mitchell proved an animated, engaging presence, offering helpful commentary and leading the orchestra in capable (albeit also muted) readings.
Far and away the most effective performance of the afternoon was the finale, the original version of Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain," chosen for its depiction of a Solstice feast. As the winds picked up, the orchestra dug deeply into the piece and brought off a raucous, dynamic scene.
Respighi's "Botticelli Triptych" also fared relatively well, despite competition from a nearby church carillon. The "Birth of Venus" movement came off exactly as intended, as a steady rising and swirling, and the "Adoration of the Magi" was easy to adore with haunting work by principal bassoon John Clouser.
Bartok's five "Hungarian Sketches," some of which the composer played on a 1928 visit to Cleveland, made for short, effervescent treats Sunday, and the "Angelic Concert" from Hindemith's opera "Mathis Der Maler" (Hindemith also visited Cleveland, in 1939) got the program off to a subdued but ultimately boisterous and brassy start.
To read the complete review, please click here.
Audio: Brett Mitchell discusses upcoming Cleveland Orchestra concert celebrating Cleveland Museum of Art's centennial
Associate conductor Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a performance on Sunday, June 26 celebrating the centennial of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Orchestra's neighbor in University Circle.
Brett Mitchell joined host Bill O'Connell on WCLV Classical 104.9 this afternoon to discuss The Cleveland Orchestra's upcoming performance on Sunday, June 26, which will serve as the finale of the Cleveland Museum of Art's Centennial Festival Weekend. To hear this interview, please click here.
Preview: "Solstice is Centerpiece of Terrific Weekend at Wade Oval"
Cleveland Scene has published a preview of Brett Mitchell's upcoming concert with The Cleveland Orchestra on Sunday, June 26:
The weekend culminates Sunday evening with a special performance outside Wade Lagoon by the Cleveland Orchestra. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., the Cleveland Orchestra will perform on the CMA’s south terrace for the very first time in its 100-year history.
“It's a great pleasure for us to help our friends at the Cleveland Museum of Art celebrate their centennial,” says Brett Mitchell, Associate Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra. "The five pieces on our program all feature intimate connections between the worlds of visual art and classical music, with two of the composers having visited and performed at the CMA during its first hundred years.”
Sunday’s concert is the weekend’s grand finale, and is free and open to the public. Created to provide connections to the visual arts and the summer solstice, the concert will feature works by Bartók, Hindemith, Mussorgsky, Respighi and Adam Schoenberg under the direction of Cleveland Orchestra Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell.
“Béla Bartók and Paul Hindemith, two in a long line of artists who performed in the museum’s longstanding concert series, both visited the Cleveland Museum of Art, either performing or giving lectures,” organizers stated in an official press release. “The Hindemith, Respighi, and Adam Schoenberg works were inspired by the visual arts and the Mussorgsky work has a connection to the summer solstice.”
“Having The Cleveland Orchestra perform the finale of our Centennial Festival Weekend is about the greatest birthday gift I think we could ever imagine,” says Tom Welsh, the museum's Director of Performing Arts.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Preview: "The Cleveland Orchestra Celebrates the Art Museum's Centennial"
Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a special performance at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Sunday, June 26.
Cleveland Scene has listed Brett Mitchell's June 26 performance with The Cleveland Orchestra as its principal classical music event not to miss this week:
The Cleveland Museum of Art just turned 100 years old, and The Cleveland Orchestra will mark that milestone by crossing the street to play an outdoor concert on the Museum’s South Terrace on Sunday, June 26 at 5:30 pm. Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell will wield the baton for a program of art-related music, including some pieces by composers who actually visited the Museum on their trips to Cleveland. The program features music by Paul Hindemith, Ottorino Respighi, Adam Schoenberg, Béla Bartók, and Modest Mussorgsky. Admission is free. It. Will. Not. Rain.
To read the complete preview, please click here.