NEWS
Video: The Mitchells commemorate Black History Month
Brett and Angela Mitchell record music of African American composers at home in February 2021.
Published Feb 5, 2021 Updated Feb 26, 2021
DENVER — Every Friday throughout Black History Month, Brett Mitchell and his wife, soprano Angela Mitchell, released a new recording of an art song by an African American composer.
H. Leslie Adams
“For you there is no song”
On February 5, the Mitchells released “For You There Is No Song” (1960) by Cleveland native H. Leslie Adams (b. 1932).
JOHN W. WORK III
“SOLILOQUY”
On February 26, the Mitchells released “Soliloquy” (1946) by Tennessee native John W. Work III (1901-67).
Brett Mitchell to step down from Colorado Symphony after five seasons as artistic leader
Brett Mitchell will step down as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony on June 30, 2021. (Photo by Amanda Tipton)
Published Jan 29, 2021 Updated Feb 9, 2021
DENVER — After five seasons at the artistic helm of the Colorado Symphony, Brett Mitchell will step down from his post on June 30, 2021. Mr. Mitchell has served as Music Director since the 2017-18 season, and previously served as Music Director Designate during the 2016-17 season.
From the official press release from the Colorado Symphony:
During Mitchell’s five-season tenure, he is credited with deepening the orchestra’s engagement with its audience via in-depth demonstrations from both the podium and the piano. He also expanded the orchestra’s commitment to contemporary American repertoire—with a particular focus on the music of Mason Bates, Missy Mazzoli, and Kevin Puts—through world premieres, recording projects, and commissions. In addition, Mitchell spearheaded collaborations with such local partners as Colorado Ballet, Denver Young Artists Orchestra, and El Sistema Colorado. The cancellation of the 2020/21 season, due to the COVID-19 health pandemic, halted the progress of other collaborations and recordings previously planned under Mitchell’s direction.
“The Colorado Symphony is grateful for Brett Mitchell's contributions the past five seasons and is excited to enter an unprecedented period of discovery in artistic leadership in the organization's nearly 100-year story,” said Jerome H. Kern, Chief Executive Officer & Board Chair for the Colorado Symphony. “We will look forward to seeing Maestro Mitchell on the podium again in future seasons…”
In The Denver Post’s announcement of his departure, critic-at-large John Wenzel writes that “Mitchell has been a bright and engaging presence over the years, delving into the history of certain well-worn pieces while leading expert renditions of them.”
Video: Cleveland Orchestra musicians join Brett Mitchell for 80th-anniversary recording of Copland's 'Quiet City'
Robert Walters (English horn), Brett Mitchell (piano), and Michael Sachs (trumpet) perform Aaron Copland’s ‘Quiet City.’
DENVER — Cleveland Orchestra principal trumpet Michael Sachs and solo English horn Robert Walters join Brett Mitchell for a long-distance performance of Aaron Copland's Quiet City, recorded to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the piece's premiere on January 28, 1941.
Mr. Mitchell worked with Mr. Sachs and Mr. Walters from 2013 to 2017 while serving on the conducting staff of The Cleveland Orchestra, where Mr. Sachs has been principal trumpet since 1988 and Mr. Walters has been solo English horn since 2004.
Mr. Mitchell recorded his portion of this video in Denver, Colorado, on January 8. Mr. Walters and Mr. Sachs recorded their portions in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 15 and 19, respectively.
Enjoy the complete performance below, or watch on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Brett Mitchell to lead San Antonio Symphony's 2020-21 season finale
Published Nov 20, 2020 Updated Jan 9, 2021
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Symphony announced today details of new plans for its 2020-21 performance season, with Brett Mitchell returning to lead its season finale in June 2021.
The [San Antonio Symphony] will offer socially distanced in-person concerts beginning in February 2021. Plans will be announced for new streaming attendance options in the coming weeks. All performances will be held at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.
“We have an incredible season of music that we’re extremely proud to share with our community. The safety of our audiences, musicians, and staff remain our top priority. We’ve reprogramed our concert offerings to meet the guidelines set forth by both local government and health professionals,” said Corey Cowart, Executive Director. “We look forward to welcoming our patrons back to the hall this February, both in-person and virtually. All of us here at the Symphony are excited to return to serving our community through music.”
The SAS and Tobin Center for the Performing Arts are implementing additional safety measures for in-person attendance, including increased sanitizing of high-touch surfaces, easy access to hand-sanitizing stations, enforcement of social-distancing guidelines, use of masks, touch-less ticketing, temperature checks, and special audience-routing throughout the Tobin Center.
Mr. Mitchell was scheduled to lead a subscription program of works by Missy Mazzoli, Mozart, Prokofiev, and Ravel with the orchestra on March 13 and 14, 2020, but the performances were canceled after the dress rehearsal due to COVID-19.
Mr. Mitchell will now lead the final subscription program of the orchestra’s 2020-21 season, presented on Friday and Saturday, June 4 and 5, 2021. The program will be:
HONEGGER - Pastorale d’été
PIAZZOLLA - Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Sarah Silver Manzke, violin (Associate Concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony)
MOZART - Symphony No. 29
For more information, please view the San Antonio Symphony’s season announcement, and visit the event page for Mr. Mitchell’s performances with the orchestra.
Update: COVID-19 cancellations
Published March 13, 2020 Updated January 9, 2021
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, all of Brett Mitchell’s performances from March 13 through October 4, 2020, were canceled.
Mr. Mitchell returned to the podium for his subscription debut of four performances with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from October 30 through November 1, 2020, but the remainder of his 2020 performances have been canceled.
The Colorado Symphony—of which Mr. Mitchell serves as Music Director—has canceled all performances through May 31, 2021.
The following list of canceled performances—totaling 53 as of January 9, 2021—will be updated as further information becomes available.
March 13 and 14, 2020
SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY
MISSY MAZZOLI - Holy Roller
MOZART - Symphony No. 29 in A major, K. 201
PROKOFIEV - Violin Concerto No. 2 (Angelo Xiang Yu, violin)
RAVEL - Rapsodie espagnole
March 27, 2020
COLORADO SYMPHONY
ADAM SCHOENBERG - Finding Rothko
RACHMANINOFF - Isle of the Dead
BEETHOVEN - String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135
JAMES CLARKE - Symphony No. 2 [WORLD PREMIERE]
March 28 and 29, 2020
COLORADO SYMPHONY
Disney FANTASIA - Live in Concert
May 1, 2, and 3, 2020
COLORADO SYMPHONY
MAHLER - Symphony No. 9
May 16, 2020
COLORADO SYMPHONY
LAMONT JAZZ ORCHESTRA
STILL - Festive Overture
BERNSTEIN - Prelude, Fugue and Riffs
ELLINGTON - Harlem
May 22, 23, and 24, 2020
COLORADO SYMPHONY & CHORUS
SAINT-SAËNS - “Bacchanale” from Samson et Dalila
MASON BATES - Children of Adam: Songs of Creation
BEETHOVEN - Symphony No. 3, “Eroica"
July 11, 2020
THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA
BERNSTEIN - Symphony No. 2, “The Age of Anxiety” (Kirill Gerstein, piano)
COPLAND - Suite from Appalachian Spring
COPLAND - Suite from Billy the Kid
July 26, 2020
COLORADO SYMPHONY
SHOSTAKOVICH - Festive Overture
LISZT - Les Préludes
BEETHOVEN - Symphony No. 9
This performance has been rescheduled for July 25, 2021.
August 20, 2020
LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC
MOZART - Amadeus
(Complete film with live orchestral accompaniment)
September 8 and 9, 2020
COLORADO SYMPHONY
BEETHOVEN - Coriolan Overture
BEETHOVEN - Violin Concerto (Paul Huang, violin)
BEETHOVEN - Symphony No. 5
September 18, 19, and 20, 2020
COLORADO SYMPHONY
KORNGOLD - Sursum Corda (Lift Up Your Hearts)
R. STRAUSS - Suite from Der Rosenkavalier
BEETHOVEN - Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor” (Olga Kern, piano)
October 2, 3, and 4, 2020
COLORADO SYMPHONY
KEVIN PUTS - …this noble company
ELGAR - Cello Concerto (Joshua Roman, cello)
SHOSTAKOVICH - Symphony No. 5
November 20, 21, and 22, 2020
COLORADO SYMPHONY
HINDEMITH - Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Weber
RACHMANINOFF - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Joyce Yang, piano)
TCHAIKOVSKY - Symphony No. 2, “Little Russian”
December 10-23, 2020
THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA
TRADITIONAL (arr. Anderson) - “Wassail Song” from Suite of Carols
TCHAIKOVSKY (arr. Ferrari) - Selections from The Nutcracker
TRADITIONAL (arr. Kay/Lavender) - Deck the Hall
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (arr. Greaves) - Fantasia on “Greensleeves”
TRADITIONAL (arr. Mairs) - Holly and the Good King
BERLIN (arr. Jackfert) - White Christmas [world premiere]
ANDERSON (arr. Caputo) - Sleigh Ride
Mr. Mitchell was also to lead a jazz trio from the piano to accompany Broadway star Capathia Jenkins:
CAHN/STYNE - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
FOSTER/THOMPSON-JENNER - Grown-Up Christmas List
COOTS/GILLESPIE - Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town
December 31, 2020
COLORADO SYMPHONY
A Night in Vienna - New Year’s Eve
March 20, 2021
PASADENA SYMPHONY
ADAM SCHOENBERG - Finding Rothko
GRIEG - Piano Concerto (Andrew Tyson, piano)
MOZART - Symphony No. 40
April 9, 10, and 11, 2021
COLORADO SYMPHONY & CHORUS
WAGNER - “Good Friday Music” from Parsifal
MASON BATES - Resurrexit
BRAHMS - A German Requiem
Anna Christy, soprano | John Brancy, baritone
April 30, May 1 and 2, 2021
COLORADO SYMPHONY
RAVEL - Noble and Sentimental Waltzes
PROKOFIEV - Violin Concerto No. 2 (Stefan Jackiw, violin)
STRAVINSKY - Petrushka
May 28, 29, and 30, 2021
COLORADO SYMPHONY & CHORUS
MAHLER - Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection”
Felicia Moore, soprano | Susan Platts, alto
Preview: Brett Mitchell leads Cleveland Orchestra Christmas from the podium and the keyboard
Published November 6, 2020 Updated November 18, 2020
UPDATE: Due the continued rise of positive cases of COVID-19 in Northeast Ohio, The Cleveland Orchestra has canceled these performances. Learn more.
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Orchestra has announced that Brett Mitchell will return to lead their 2020 Christmas Concerts, marking the orchestra’s first live performances in Severance Hall since March.
Mr. Mitchell will lead the string and percussion sections of the orchestra in such holiday favorites as Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on “Greensleeves,” selections from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and a world-premiere arrangement by Matthew Jackfert of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” Mr. Mitchell will also lead a jazz trio from the piano to accompany Broadway star Capathia Jenkins in several selections throughout the program, including “Let It Snow,” “Grown-Up Christmas List,” and “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town.”
Mr. Mitchell will lead a jazz trio from the piano to accompany Broadway star Capathia Jenkins in several selections throughout The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2020 Christmas Concerts. (Photo by Jeff Nelson)
More details from Cleveland.com:
Many performances are already sold-out to subscribers who held tickets before the COVID-19 pandemic. Several shows, however, still have limited seating for the general public, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Below are the performances with available tickets. All seven take place at 7:30 p.m. at Severance Hall.
Thursday and Friday, Dec. 10 and 11
Sunday, Dec. 13
Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 16 and 17
Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 22 and 23
Guests will be seated with members of their own household, and groups will be separated by empty chairs. All guests will be required to wear masks and submit to a temperature check and health questionnaire at the doors.
Just as the audience will be reduced, so will the forces on stage be smaller than usual. Former associate conductor Brett Mitchell will return to conduct a strings-and-percussion orchestra, with guest vocalist Capathia Jenkins. There will be no Cleveland Orchestra Chorus or other singers.
The program also will be somewhat tighter. Expect a visit from you-know-who but don’t wait for an intermission or an audience sing-along.
For more information and ticket availability, please visit the event page on The Cleveland Orchestra’s website.
Review: A "winning performance" with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Violin soloist Karen Gomyo performs with guest conductor Brett Mitchell and the Fort Worth Symphony in concert at the Will Rogers Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, in Fort Worth. (Photo: Smiley N. Pool)
FORT WORTH — The Dallas Morning News has published a review (subscription required) of Brett Mitchell’s debut last night with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra:
Friday night’s concert was led by Brett Mitchell, a Seattle native trained in conducting at the University of Texas at Austin and currently music director of the Colorado Symphony. With 445 tickets sold, audience members were widely spaced in the 2,800-seat auditorium. A maximum of 35 musicians was well spaced onstage, with curtains raised to reveal the brick back wall…
String and percussion players were masked, causing no problems in Bernstein’s Serenade for solo violin, strings, harp and percussion. Strings projected better than I recalled from the Sept. 18 concert…
Gomyo and Mitchell collaborated on a winning performance, alert to the mix of textures, moods and even styles. (Stravinsky is a recurrent influence.) Gomyo dashed off virtuoso skitters, double-stops and high harmonics with panache, supplying unforced ardor elsewhere.
To read the complete review, please click here (subscription required).
Guest conductor Brett Mitchell speaks to the audience before the Fort Worth Symphony concert at the Will Rogers Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, in Fort Worth. (Photo: Smiley N. Pool)
Preview: Brett Mitchell conducts Bernstein and Mozart with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Brett Mitchell and Karen Gomyo will perform Bernstein’s Serenade with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
FORT WORTH — The Dallas Morning News has published a roundup of upcoming classical music events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Brett Mitchell’s upcoming debut with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
Led by guest conductor Brett Mitchell, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will perform Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony and Bernstein’s Serenade, with violinist Karen Gomyo as soloist. Audiences will be capped at 800 (about 28% of the venue’s capacity), and masks will be required. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31 and 2 p.m. Nov. 1 at Will Rogers Auditorium, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave. Limited ticket availability, $25 to $85. 817-665-6000, fwsymphony.org.
To read the complete preview, please click here.
Brett Mitchell marks milestone anniversary of conducting debut with multimedia release
Brett Mitchell with the combined bands at Lynnwood High School after his conducting debut on October 12, 1995.
LYNNWOOD, Wash. - Brett Mitchell made his conducting debut 25 years ago today on October 12, 1995.
As a 16-year-old junior at Lynnwood High School in a northern suburb of Seattle, Mr. Mitchell created and then conducted the premiere performance of an arrangement of Bruce Healey’s music from Fantasmic!, a nighttime show at Disneyland and Walt Disney World that premiered in 1992.
Watch Lesley Moffat, Director of Bands and Orchestra at Lynnwood High School from 1992 to 2002, introduce Mr. Mitchell’s debut:
The Performance
For the first time ever, to commemorate this anniversary, Mr. Mitchell is releasing complete footage of his debut:
Capturing the Moment
Mitchell’s writer’s notebook from 1995-96
The journal entry describing Mitchell’s conducting debut
Mr. Mitchell captured the experience of his debut several days later in his writer’s notebook:
As all three bands set up together, I waited backstage. After a while, I had to go sit down on the stairs because my knees were shaking so badly! Then Mrs. Moffat introduced me: “Never in 8 years of teaching have I asked a student to conduct, but because your students have done their jobs and Brett is so capable, I’m very proud to turn the baton over to our own arranger, Brett Mitchell.”
When I walked onstage, everybody—even the band—was clapping. WOW! Then I went over to the left side of the podium, just like we rehearsed, and stood there until everybody (the band) was watching. Then I stepped up onto the podium, lifted my arms, and gave the pickup. Everything after that (not to give a cliché) was a blur… I gave the last note and held my arms up. As soon as my arms went down, the whole audience started applauding. I motioned for the band to stand up, and when I turned around to bow, the whole audience was standing!! A standing ovation! Man. Mrs. Moffat was crying and came to give me a hug… I won’t ever forget that.
Interview with Lesley Moffat (2020)
Nearly 30 years after becoming her student in 7th grade band, Mr. Mitchell recently sat down for a Zoom conversation with Mrs. Moffat, who was his band director at both Alderwood Middle School (1991-92) and Lynnwood High School (1993-97). In the conversation below, they discuss Mr. Mitchell’s 1995 conducting debut, Mrs. Moffat’s three-plus decades as an educator, and what music education looks like in times of COVID.
Brett Mitchell interviews Lesley Moffat, his middle and high school band director in the 1990s.
Meeting Bruce Healey
Bruce Healey and Brett Mitchell in Hollywood, CA (Sep 2019)
Nearly 25 years after arranging Fantasmic!, Mr. Mitchell met composer Bruce Healey—now retired from Disney—while in Southern California for his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in September 2019.
A manuscript folio of Fantasmic! autographed by composer Bruce Healey
Video: Brett Mitchell explores Mahler 9 with the Colorado Symphony
Brett Mitchell and a virtual ensemble of Colorado Symphony musicians explore Mahler's Ninth Symphony.
DENVER — The Colorado Symphony and Music Director Brett Mitchell have released a new video exploring Gustav Mahler’s Ninth Symphony.
Mr. Mitchell and the orchestra were to have performed the work in May 2020, but those performances were canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Instead, Mr. Mitchell explores the work from the piano at home, and is joined virtually by members of the Colorado Symphony for demonstrations of three orchestral excerpts from Mahler’s final masterpiece.
Mr. Mitchell is also joined by his wife, soprano Angela Mitchell, for demonstrations from Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and the hymn Abide With Me.
The video originally premiered on Wednesday, September 9 on both YouTube and Facebook, and may now be viewed on both platforms on demand.
Gustav Mahler (1909)
Venue change for Brett Mitchell's Fort Worth Symphony debut
FORT WORTH — Due to the newly extended closure of Bass Performance Hall, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra has announced that their fall subscription series will now take place at Will Rogers Memorial Auditorium. The dates of Mr. Mitchell’s debut with the orchestra remain October 30-November 1, 2020, and the repertoire is unchanged:
BERNSTEIN - Serenade
Karen Gomyo, violin
MOZART - Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter”
For more information, please visit the news release and event page on the Fort Worth Symphony’s website, or view the following stories:
CBS DFW: “Same Start Date, Different Location For Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra’s Fall Symphonic Series”
FOX 4 KDFW: “FWSO moves concerts to Will Rogers Memorial Auditorium”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Fort Worth Symphony shifts concerts to Will Rogers after Bass Hall postpones reopening”
Fort Worth Magazine: “Bass Hall to Remain Closed Through December, Moving Symphony Concerts”
Broadway World: ”Bass Hall Management Decides to Extend Closure; Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's Fall Symphonic Series Moved”
Brett Mitchell's North Carolina Symphony debut to proceed with revised program
Brett Mitchell’s subscription debut with the North Carolina Symphony in May 2021 has been revised to include Joan Tower’s Chamber Dance and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
RALEIGH — The North Carolina Symphony has announced that Brett Mitchell’s previously announced debut with the orchestra will proceed as scheduled on May 14 and 15, 2021, but with an altered program due to COVID restrictions. The revised, no-intermission program will be:
JOAN TOWER - Chamber Dance
BEETHOVEN - Symphony No. 5
These performances will be available both in-person and via online streaming.
For more information, please click here.
Brett Mitchell returns to Spain with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias
Brett Mitchell leads the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias at the Jovellanos Theater in Gijón, Spain in May 2019.
OVIEDO, Spain — Following his successful debut with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias in May 2019, the orchestra has announced that Brett Mitchell will return to the podium during their Fall 2020 season, SERONDA.
Mr. Mitchell will lead a subscription program on December 3 and 4, 2020, featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Gershwin’s Concerto in F with pianist Lise de la Salle.
For more information, please click here.
Video: Brett Mitchell leads Colorado Symphony in world-premiere collaboration with Colorado Ballet
Colorado Ballet dancers Sheridan Guerin and Alejandro Perez-Torres perform original choreography for George Walker’s ‘Lyric for Strings,’ as recorded by the Colorado Symphony and Music Director Brett Mitchell.
DENVER — The Colorado Symphony and Music Director Brett Mitchell have released a video of their new, world-premiere collaboration with Colorado Ballet.
On Thursday, June 11, Mr. Mitchell and nine members of the Colorado Symphony’s string section convened in Boettcher Concert Hall for the first time since mid-March to record George Walker’s Lyric for Strings.
Mr. Walker—the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music—composed the work in 1946, but it spoke directly to choreographer Sandra Brown about the current American moment:
"I could feel and hear parts of the music that were just crying out to me about the pain and the sorrow that people are dealing with right now. It's our job as artists to take what we're feeling and present it to the community and empathize with the community."
Brett Mitchell's Fort Worth Symphony debut to proceed with revised program
Brett Mitchell’s subscription debut with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will proceed as scheduled with revised repertoire, now to include Bernstein’s ‘Serenade’ with violinist Karen Gomyo.
Published July 30, 2020 Updated August 5, 2020
FORT WORTH — Several news outlets have published stories about the Fort Worth Symphony’s updated 2020-2021 season, which includes Brett Mitchell’s subscription debut in October, marking his first performances since the COVID-19 outbreak.
From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “Fort Worth Symphony to resume live performances for upcoming season amid COVID-19”:
Live concerts by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) and guest performers will be back for this upcoming season, but with a few changes due to COVID-19.
Audience capacity will be significantly reduced to allow for social distancing…
There will be also a fourth Saturday matinee performance added to the Symphonic Series, which will remain at Bass Performance Hall.
All audience members will be required to wear a mask throughout the entirety of each concert and will not be able to enter any venue without one.
FWSO explained that there won’t be any intermissions or concessions, the concert programs will be distributed to patrons electronically, there will be hand sanitizing stations at every venue and the seating arrangements for every performance will allow for social distancing…
FWSO officials also told the Star-Telegram via email that “all patrons must fill out a COVID-19 health questionnaire prior to attending concert to ensure the safety of all guests, musicians and staff.”
For this upcoming season, there will only be 40 musicians on stage for performances at Bass Hall…
All strings, percussion and keyboardists will wear masks at all times, even during performances. Woodwinds and brass performers will have Plexiglas shields and will wear a mask when they are not playing.
From the Fort Worth Business Press, “Fort Worth Symphony announces live performances for 2020-2021 season”:
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) announced it will be performing live as planned this fall, but with a modified schedule and reduced audience capacity based on venue restrictions…
The symphony said in a news release that the organization has worked closely with venues and government health officials to ensure its live performances are safe for patrons, musicians, and staff.
“We recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic is still here in Texas, unfortunately, which is why we modified our schedule to insure our patrons are safe and socially-distant while experiencing the power of live music,” says Keith Cerny, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
From D Magazine, “North Texas symphonies announce altered fall seasons”:
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra have announced reimagined fall 2020 seasons in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both orchestras will be back on stage and performing for live audiences in September, but seeing a symphony this fall will be a bit more complicated than it was pre-COVID. We’re looking at reduced capacities in the concert halls; smaller, distanced orchestral ensembles; and fewer performances. Even in the midst of a global crisis, the show goes on…
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will also be returning in September with a modified schedule and reduced audience capacity. Adhering to social distancing guidelines and current government mandates, Bass Performance Hall will allow up to 500 patrons at concerts throughout the 2020-2021 season.
The program for Mr. Mitchell’s debut with the orchestra—proceeding as scheduled from October 30 through November 1—has been revised as follows:
BERNSTEIN - Serenade after Plato’s “Symposium”
Karen Gomyo, violin
MOZART - Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter”
For more information, please click here.
Audio: Brett Mitchell on Billy Joel and Beethoven
Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata forms the chorus of Billy Joel’s “This Night”. (Graphic: Classic FM)
DENVER — Brett Mitchell has shared a reminiscence about Billy Joel and Beethoven with Colorado Public Radio as part of CPR Classical’s Beethoven 250 series:
When Brett Mitchell, Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, was a teenager, he watched the 1990s Beethoven biopic “Immortal Beloved” in the living room of his home in Seattle.
“And I asked my mother, ‘Why are they playing a Billy Joel song in the middle of a Beethoven movie?’” Mitchell recalls.
He was a Billy Joel fan as a teenager. He still is, he says.
That Beethoven “tune” in the movie was the Pathétique Sonata. To Mitchell, it sounded just like Joel’s song “This Night”. In fact, Joel credits “L.v. Beethoven” as co-writer of the song on his 1983 album An Innocent Man.
Read Why Beethoven Is Credited In This Billy Joel Song From ‘An Innocent Man’ at CPR Classical, and hear Mr. Mitchell’s full reminiscence below:
Audio: Brett Mitchell on Kurt Masur and the power of Beethoven
Kurt Masur and Brett Mitchell after performing together at the Manhattan School of Music on March 12, 2004.
DENVER — Brett Mitchell has shared a reminiscence about his mentor Kurt Masur with Colorado Public Radio as part of CPR Classical’s Beethoven At 250 series:
Brett Mitchell, Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, worked and studied with the late, great German conductor Kurt Masur from 2004 to 2009.
Mitchell remembers a story Masur told him about the power of Beethoven’s music.
“He was driving through New York City, when he was Music Director of the New York Philharmonic (1991-2002),” Mitchell said.
Masur was stopped at a red light and a man, who appeared to be homeless, knocked on his window.
“Masur rolled down the window and told the gentleman that he didn’t have any money,” Mitchell recounted from Masur. "'No, no no,'" the man said. 'Aren’t you the maestro?' Masur said that he was ... The gentleman said to Masur, 'I was in Central Park last summer for your performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and I just wanted you to know that it changed my life and I have never been the same.'"
Mitchell said he has always remembered that story because it had a profound effect on him.
“I remember really feeling, maybe for the first time, how powerful music can truly be,” Mitchell said. “How broad a section of humanity that his music could really reach.”
Read Beethoven At 250: What’s Your Beethoven Story? at CPR Classical, and hear Mr. Mitchell’s full reminiscence below:
Video: Brett Mitchell and Basil Vendryes discuss race in classical music
Brett Mitchell and Basil Vendryes recorded their conversation on Wednesday in Golden, CO.
DENVER — Brett Mitchell sits down with Basil Vendryes, Principal Violist of the Colorado Symphony, for a candid, extended conversation about race in classical music. Watch the complete conversation below.
World premiere video: Brett Mitchell and the Colorado Symphony explore Wagner’s ‘Ring’
Brett Mitchell introduces the Colorado Symphony’s latest Virtual Music Hour: ‘The Ring without Words.’
DENVER — From May 22 to 24, as part of its ongoing Virtual Music Hour series, the Colorado Symphony will present never-before-seen video of its April 2018 performances of The Ring without Words, a selection of orchestral highlights from Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle as arranged by Lorin Maazel. Music Director Brett Mitchell explains how the project came to Denver:
“In my late twenties, I was very fortunate to be mentored by the great conductor Lorin Maazel. One of the many pieces we delved into during our time together was his arrangement of orchestral highlights from Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle, which Maazel affectionately titled The Ring without Words. When I accepted my position at the Colorado Symphony, I knew right away that I wanted to bring this incredible masterpiece to our audience, not just because of the greatness of Wagner’s music, but also because of my personal relationship with Maazel. When I reached out to Maestro’s widow to let her know we’d be doing this piece, I was stunned and incredibly moved when, a few weeks later, I received from her one of Maestro’s last batons with which to conduct the weekend’s performances. For so many reasons, it remains one of the most meaningful programs I’ve ever led, and one I’ll certainly carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Before presenting a complete performance of the piece, Mr. Mitchell and the orchestra shared with the audience various leitmotifs, compositional techniques, and plot points from Wagner's score:
Audio: A Little Help From My Friends: The Colorado Symphony Can Thank The Beatles For Its Conductor
Brett Mitchell at the piano in the CPR Classical Performance Studio.
DENVER — Colorado Public Radio Classical has produced an audio story featuring Brett Mitchell discussing some of his earliest experiences with classical music, exploring works by the Beatles, Antonio Vivaldi, Bernard Herrmann, Samuel Barber, and Felix Mendelssohn:
Do you remember the first time you heard classical music? Brett Mitchell, Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, thinks for him, it may have been the Beatles! Yes, the Beatles.
Classical music is an important part of movies, television, and concealed in the DNA of some of the modern popular music we know and love.
“There are all sorts of ways to get yourself into the world of classical music and it doesn’t necessarily have to be that you’re listening to Mozart from the time you’re in the womb,” said Mitchell. “I came to classical music quite late but what I didn’t know was that even in listening to this great pop music from the 60’s, I was getting a great dose of classical music.”
Listen as Brett Mitchell explains why the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” has hints of Vivaldi. Paul McCartney’s then girlfriend can take some credit for that. Mitchell also teases out the classical influence on Bernard Herrmann’s score to Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” and more.
To listen to the complete story, please click here.