NEWS
Brett Mitchell to open 2021 Blossom Music Festival with The Cleveland Orchestra
Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in the opening weekend of the 2021 Blossom Music Festival, marking the orchestra’s first public performances since March 2020. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Published April 11, 2021 Updated May 6, 2021
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Orchestra has announced that Brett Mitchell will lead the opening weekend of the 2021 Blossom Music Festival, marking the orchestra’s first public performances in over a year. The complete program, presented on July 3 and 4, will be as follows:
For more information, please visit the 2021 Blossom Music Festival season announcement, the event page for Mr. Mitchell’s performance with the orchestra, and the following press articles:
Akron.com (May 6): ‘Cleveland Orchestra’s Blossom Music Festival to return’
Akron Beacon Journal (May 3): ‘Cleveland Orchestra launches Blossom single ticket sales, announces soloists’
Broadway World (May 3): ‘2021 Blossom Music Festival Individual Tickets on Sale Now’
Akron Beacon Journal (Apr 11): ‘Cleveland Orchestra unveils 2021 Blossom Music Festival season’
Cleveland.com (Apr 11): ‘Cleveland Orchestra to perform at least 11 concerts with live audiences this summer at Blossom Music Center’
WCPN (Apr 11): ‘Full Cleveland Orchestra And Audience Return To Blossom In July’
Broadway World (Apr 11): ‘The Cleveland Orchestra Announces 2021 Blossom Music Festival’
Cleveland Classical (Apr 12): ‘BLOSSOM 2021’
Cleveland 19 News (Apr 12): ‘Cleveland Orchestra to hold Blossom Music Festival this summer’
Brett Mitchell’s return to River Oaks Chamber Orchestra to feature two world premieres
Mr. Mitchell will lead new works by composers Reena Esmail (L) and Quinn Mason (R) with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in April 2021.
Published April 28, 2020 Updated April 26, 2021
HOUSTON - Following his debut in February 2019, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra has announced that Brett Mitchell will return to the podium to lead two world premieres on their 2020-21 season finale.
The program will feature the first performance of The History of Red, a co-commission by Reena Esmail based on a text by Chickasaw poet Linda Hogan, with soprano Kathryn Mueller as soloist. Mr. Mitchell will also lead the world premiere of Princesa de la Luna by Quinn Mason.
The complete program:
ERROLLYN WALLEN - Photography
BARBER - Knoxville: Summer of 1915
QUINN MASON - Princesa de la Luna [world premiere]
FALLA - ‘Danse espagnole’ from La vida breve
REENA ESMAIL - The History of Red [world premiere]
SURINACH - Ritmo Jondo: Flamenco for Orchestra (feat. live dance from Solero Flamenco)
The concert will be streamed live on Saturday, April 24, 2021, from The Church of St. John the Divine in Houston.
For more information, please visit the event page, and read the following previews:
Houston Chronicle: ROCO sees ‘Red’ with Reena Esmail composition this weekend
Houstonia: Meet Quinn Mason, the Up-and-Coming Composer Coming to Houston
Houston Press: Best Virtual Bets
Mr. Mitchell previews the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra’s 16th season finale: ‘Flamenco.’
Mr. Mitchell and soprano Kathryn Mueller offer a sneak peek of Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915.
Brett Mitchell to lead The Cleveland Orchestra's 2021 holiday festival
Brett Mitchell will lead The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2021 Holiday Concerts in Severance Hall. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Orchestra has announced that Brett Mitchell will return to lead their 2021 Holiday Concerts, a series of a dozen performances running from Thursday, December 9 through Sunday, December 19.
Repertoire and guest artists will be announced in fall 2021, but tickets are on sale now.
For more information, please visit clevelandorchestra.com/holiday.
Video: Brett Mitchell explores Copland’s ‘The Tender Land’
DENVER — Brett Mitchell has released a new video exploring Aaron Copland’s Suite from The Tender Land.
Presented live at Boettcher Concert Hall in April 2018 as part of a program entitled The American Voice, Mr. Mitchell leads the Colorado Symphony in demonstrations exploring what makes the 1954 opera sound so distinctly American.
All three movements of the Suite are explored:
I. Introduction and Love Music
II. Party Scene
III. Finale: The Promise of Living
Watch the complete demonstration above, or learn more on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
Video: Brett Mitchell plays Barber, Stravinsky, and Mussorgsky
Brett Mitchell records music of Samuel Barber at home in January 2021.
Published Jan 27, 2021 Updated Mar 25, 2021
DENVER — Brett Mitchell has released several new recordings of brief works by Samuel Barber, Igor Stravinsky, and Modest Mussorgsky.
Samuel Barber
Blues from Excursions
Samuel Barber
To My Steinway
Igor Stravinsky
Chorale from Symphonies of Wind instruments
Modest Mussorgsky (arr. Igor Stravinsky)
Chorus from the Prologue to Boris Godunov
Video: Brett Mitchell performs Leonard Bernstein
Published Oct 14, 2020 Updated Mar 22, 2021
DENVER — To commemorate various occasions, Brett Mitchell has recorded several of Leonard Bernstein’s Anniversaries at the piano.
Video: The Mitchells present 'A Season of Song: A Spring Recital'
DENVER — Following the success of their 2020 holiday special, Christmas with the Mitchells, soprano Angela Mitchell and pianist Brett Mitchell are back with a new, half-hour musical special to celebrate the arrival of spring: A Season of Song.
Filmed in the living room of their home in the foothills outside Denver, the Mitchells share some of their favorite spring-themed music:
Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most (Tommy Wolf)
You Must Believe In Spring (Michel Legrand)
Frühlingsglaube (Franz Schubert)
In The Springtime (Betty Jackson King) (sneak peek)
The Daisies (Samuel Barber) (sneak peek)
Nature, The Gentlest Mother (Aaron Copland)
It Might As Well Be Spring (Rodgers & Hammerstein)
Younger Than Springtime (Rodgers & Hammerstein)
Watch the trailer, and view the complete special below.
Brett Mitchell returns to the San Antonio Symphony in 2021-22 season
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Symphony has announced its 2021-22 performance season, with Brett Mitchell returning to lead a program of works by Missy Mazzoli, Tchaikovsky, and Ravel on November 5 and 6, 2021. The complete program will be:
MISSY MAZZOLI - Holy Roller
TCHAIKOVSKY - Violin Concerto
Angelo Xiang Yu, violin
RAVEL - Valses nobles et sentimentales
RAVEL - La valse
For more information, please view the San Antonio Symphony’s season announcement and these stories in the San Antonio Express-News (subscription required) and the San Antonio Report.
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 performance 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.
New Holiday Music: ‘Brett Mitchell: Home for the Holidays’
Published December 15, 2020 Updated December 24, 2020
DENVER — In lieu of live performances this holiday season, Brett Mitchell has returned to the piano to release Brett Mitchell: Home for the Holidays, a playlist of all-new videos celebrating the season on his YouTube channel.
Christmas with the Mitchells
Mr. Mitchell collaborates with his wife, soprano Angela Mitchell, on a new, half-hour holiday special, Christmas with the Mitchells. Filmed in the living room of their home in the foothills outside Denver, the Mitchells share some of their favorite holiday music, including “The Christmas Song,” “My Favorite Things,” “Grown-Up Christmas List,” “O Holy Night,” “The First Noel,” “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” (sneak peek), and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Watch the trailer, and view the complete special below.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Mr. Mitchell has also recorded half a dozen selections from Vince Guaraldi’s classic score for the 1965 Peanuts animated television special, A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Happy 250th Birthday, Beethoven!
DENVER — To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven on December 16, 1770, Brett Mitchell plays “Happy Birthday” in the style of “Für Elise,” one of the variations from Leonid Hambro's Happy Birthday, Dear Ludwig.
View the complete performance on YouTube, or watch on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Video: Brett Mitchell plays jazz
Brett Mitchell during a recording session at home in Colorado in December 2020
Published September 15, 2020 Updated December 6, 2020
DENVER — Returning to one of his first musical loves, Brett Mitchell has released several new videos of solo piano arrangements by jazz greats Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, George Shearing, and Vince Guaraldi, recorded at home in summer and fall 2020.
For more information, please visit the Brett Mitchell Plays Jazz playlist on YouTube.
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.