Conductor Brett Mitchell is the next music director of the Colorado Symphony. The orchestra announced on Sept. 12 that the 37-year-old conductor will take over in 2017 -- though he’ll lead five concerts at Boettcher Concert Hall this season.
- Related: Colorado Symphony Introduces New Music Director Brett Mitchell
- Concert broadcasts: Brett Mitchell conducts the Colorado Symphony on CPR Classical
- Thursday, Oct. 6 at 1 and 7 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 8 at noon
- Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1 p.m.
Mitchell, who’s currently associate conductor with the Cleveland Orchestra, spoke with CPR Classical’s David Rutherford just two days after the big announcement. He talked about what he’s learned from working with the Cleveland Orchestra, what he hopes to accomplish in his first concerts with the Colorado Symphony and what he remembers about his first conducting gig.
Click the audio above to hear the conversation. Interview highlights:
On the chemistry he felt with the Colorado Symphony musicians
"Even the very best orchestras and the very best conductors sometimes, when they get together, it just doesn't quite gel. But from the very first downbeat of our first rehearsal, the Colorado Symphony and I seemed to just hit it off gangbusters."
On embracing different types of concert programs
"There's no weak spot in the Colorado Symphony's repertory. So that means that the kind of dreaming I can do in terms of what we're able to program is totally unlimited. And that's very exciting to somebody that has as diverse a musical background as I do."
Watch Mitchell lead a performance of Igor Stravinsky’s “Petrushka” earlier this year:
