Brett Mitchell (Photo – Roger Mastroianni)
Pasadena Symphony Board President Kimberly Winick announces that the Board of Directors has appointed Brett Mitchell as their new Music Director.
By News Desk
Brett Mitchell will begin his five-year tenure with Pasadena Symphony on April 1, 2024. His first performance as Music Director will be the orchestra’s season-opening concert on October 26, 2024. Mitchell is also the Artistic Director and Conductor of Oregon’s Sunriver Music Festival, a position he has held since 2022 and will maintain in conjunction with his new Pasadena Symphony post.
An in-demand guest conductor as well, Mitchell’s recent engagements include appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl; the Cleveland and Minnesota orchestras; the Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, National, San Francisco, and Vancouver symphonies, among others; and a two-week tour with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Mitchell also regularly collaborates with the world’s leading soloists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Itzhak Perlman, Kirill Gerstein, Conrad Tao, Rudolf Buchbinder, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Leila Josefowicz, and Alisa Weilerstein.
Pasadena Symphony Board President Kimberly Winick states, “Brett Mitchell emerged from our competitive music director search as our all-around favorite, and I am delighted to welcome him as our new artistic leader. His energy and talent will engage, sustain, and help to broaden our musical community.” Pasadena Symphony CEO Andrew Brown adds, “We are excited Brett Mitchell is joining the orchestra at this significant time in the orchestra’s history, with our centennial just four years away. Brett is a tremendous talent. With his deand inspire musicians and audiences alike, he is the right person to lead the orchestra into its second century.”eply creative programming, broad vision, collaborative spirit, and innate ability to keep classical music fresh and inspire musicians and audiences alike, he is the right person to lead the orchestra into its second century.”
Orchestra’s Sixth Music Director in Nearly a Century
Mitchell is the sixth conductor to serve as Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony since the orchestra was founded in 1928. He succeeds distinguished Music Directors Reginald Bland (1928-1936); Dr. Richard Lert (1936-1968); Daniel Lewis (1971-1982); Jorge Mester (1984-2010); and David Lockington (2013-2022).
In addition to overseeing all artistic aspects of the Pasadena Symphony, Mitchell will collaborate on the orchestra’s community and education programs, including the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras, eleven ensembles serving students of all musical abilities in grades 5-12.
The Pasadena Symphony is part of the larger entity, the Pasadena Symphony and POPS. Michael Feinstein continues in his role as Principal Pops Conductor of the Pasadena POPS, which presents an annual summer series at the Los Angeles County Arboretum.
Breadth of Experience
From 2017 to 2021, Mitchell served as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony in Denver; In addition to his extensive guest conducting work and artistic leadership positions with the Colorado Symphony and Sunriver Music Festival, Mitchell has held several other notable posts. He served on the conducting staff of The Cleveland Orchestra from 2013 to 2017, joining the orchestra as Assistant Conductor before being promoted to Associate Conductor in 2015.
Prior to that, from 2007 to 2011, Mitchell led more than 100 performances as Assistant Conductor of the Houston Symphony. He also held Assistant Conductor posts with the Orchestre National de France, where he worked under Kurt Masur from 2006 to 2009, and the Castleton Festival, where he worked under Lorin Maazel in 2009 and 2010.
Coming Full Circle
Brett Mitchell was born in 1979, raised in Seattle, Washington, and now resides in Denver, Colorado with his family, where they plan to remain. He vividly recalls the music from the Star Wars and Superman films having a tremendous impact on him as a child. “The first time I heard an orchestra was in a movie theater on a film soundtrack,” he explains, inspiring him to earn a degree in music composition from Western Washington University. “I wanted to be a film composer but ended up writing orchestral works that, in a twist of fate, I started conducting, which I discovered was my true passion.” That led to him earning Master’s and Doctorate degrees in conducting from the University of Texas at Austin.
He continues, “In many ways, joining the Pasadena Symphony as Music Director is really coming full circle for me. So many of our musicians are these iconic studio players whose work I’ve known and loved for decades. To now be able to work with them and experience their artistry in person is a thrill beyond words.”
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