Widely recognized as an engaging communicator known for his vivid musical leadership, Brett Mitchell has earned consistent praise for his performances on world-class stages, establishing himself as a leading voice in American classical music.
Mitchell currently serves as Music Director of the Pasadena Symphony—an orchestra comprising many of Hollywood's premier studio musicians—and Artistic Director & Conductor of Oregon's Sunriver Music Festival. His previous leadership roles include tenures as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, Associate Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra, and Assistant Conductor positions with both the Houston Symphony and the Orchestre National de France.
In May 2025, Mitchell's versatility was on full display when he stepped in for his New York Philharmonic subscription debut at David Geffen Hall on less than 24 hours' notice. He led three acclaimed performances of Kevin Puts's The Brightness of Light featuring soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Rod Gilfry, followed by the complete score of Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé featuring the New York Philharmonic Chorus.
A prolific guest conductor, Mitchell’s 2026–27 season features debuts with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, as well as return appearances with The Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony. He has also led the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, part of a domestic and international portfolio that includes the major orchestras of Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Nashville, and North Carolina, as well as the New Zealand, Vancouver, and Edmonton Symphonies. On the concert stage, he regularly collaborates with many of the world’s most celebrated soloists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Kirill Gerstein, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, and Alisa Weilerstein.
As Music Director of the Colorado Symphony from 2017 to 2021, Mitchell led the organization through a period of significant artistic growth. Following a season as Music Director Designate, he helped position the orchestra as a central cultural voice in the region, strengthening community ties through strategic collaborations and broadening the ensemble's commitment to American music with new commissions, premieres, and recordings.
Previously, Mitchell spent four seasons on the conducting staff of The Cleveland Orchestra, joining as Assistant Conductor in 2013 and being promoted to Associate Conductor in 2015. His relationship with the orchestra has spanned more than a decade; he remains a frequent guest on the podium, having led more than 150 performances with the ensemble over the past twelve years.Early in his career, Mitchell served as Assistant Conductor of the Houston Symphony, leading more than one hundred performances and establishing a relationship that continues today through regular guest appearances. In Europe, he also held a three-year appointment as Assistant Conductor of the Orchestre National de France, working closely with Kurt Masur, and later served as in the same capacity at the Castleton Festival under Lorin Maazel. Following these foundational roles, he completed a transformative five-year tenure as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, where his focus on locally relevant programming resulted in record attendance and significant community growth.
Equally at home in the worlds of film music, opera, and ballet, Mitchell has conducted live-to-picture productions of more than two dozen of the world's most celebrated film scores. In the opera pit, he has led nearly a dozen opera productions spanning the core works of Mozart, Verdi, and Stravinsky to contemporary works by Mark Adamo, Robert Aldridge, Daniel Catán, and Daron Hagen. As a ballet conductor, Mitchell most recently collaborated with the Philadelphia Ballet for a series of performances of The Nutcracker in partnership with The Cleveland Orchestra.
In addition to his work with professional orchestras, Mitchell is widely recognized for his commitment to mentoring young musicians. During his highly regarded tenure as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (2013–17), he led a much-lauded four-city tour of China in 2015. At home, he has worked extensively with students at several of the country's leading training programs, including the Cleveland Institute of Music, Interlochen Center for the Arts, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Sarasota and Texas Music Festivals. He has also held faculty appointments at the University of Houston, the University of Denver, and Northern Illinois University.
Also an accomplished pianist, Mitchell was named a Steinway Artist by Steinway & Sons in 2025. He concertizes regularly at the keyboard, often appearing in recital with members of his orchestras. Beyond the concert hall, he has cultivated a devoted global following through his original piano transcriptions of iconic film scores, which are featured prominently on his popular YouTube channel. Born in Seattle in 1979, Mitchell holds degrees in conducting from the University of Texas at Austin and composition from Western Washington University, which selected him as its Young Alumnus of the Year in 2014. He studied with Leonard Slatkin at the National Conducting Institute and was selected by Kurt Masur as a recipient of the inaugural American Friends of the Mendelssohn Foundation Scholarship in 2008. Mitchell was also one of five recipients of the League of American Orchestras' American Conducting Fellowship from 2007 to 2010.
