Biography

Brian Mitchell began his music training on guitar at the age of 14. He quickly progressed from rock and blues to jazz and eventually classical. His interests in various styles of music are wide-ranging and influence his composing to this day. Brian has been influenced by artists that are diverse and wide-ranging; everyone from The Beatles, Bjork and Metallica to Osvaldo Golijov, Steve Reich, Mozart and Bach.

Brian earned the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Georgia State University. During graduate studies, he served as Guitar Performance Teaching Assistant where he was responsible for teaching guitar lessons throughout the university. He has performed in recitals throughout the state of Georgia and has participated in masterclasses with world renowned guitarists Manuel Barrueco and Pepe Romero.

In addition to performance, Brian is also an active composer of film and concert music. May 2008 saw the premiere of 'Wishing, Wanting, Waiting...' for string quartet. It was written for and dedicated to the Balkan Quartet, a string quartet whose members are from Serbia and Bulgaria. This group is dedicated to reviving and developing an interest in the music of the Balkan region. This new composition has been receiving extensive performance throughout the Southeast and has been received enthusiastically by audiences and critics alike. The Charleston City Paper said,

In June 2006 he was commissioned by The High Museum of Art in Atlanta to compose a new film score for Sergei Eisenstein's legendary silent film Que Viva Mexico. The score was composed for a chamber ensemble consisting of flute, violin, guitar, marimba, congas and triangle The score was performed in real time to the film and received it's world premiere in October of 2006 at the opening of the 21st Latin American Film Festival in The Rich Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center. The score will receive another Atlanta performance in January 2009 with the acclaimed new music ensemble Bent Frequency. In October of 2006, he was commissioned by Etheridge and Co. to compose music for a series of PSAs for The International Cancer Society. He has released three compact discs of his original compositions, Compositions Vol. 1, Piano Works and String Quartets 1-3. In 2004 he composed the score for the Cine award-winning documentary More Than Words Can Say. The film has traveled internationally since it's premiere at the Brazelton Centre in the U.K. His String Quartet #1 received a world premiere at The Decatur New Music Festival in May of 1999 on the campus of Agnes Scott College and Landscape #1 for piano was premiered at Georgia State University in April of 1999.

Brian currently serves on the faculties of Georgia Perimeter College and University of West Georgia where he teaches guitar and directs the guitar ensembles. He has served on the faculties at Georgia State University and Georgia Highlands College. He is currently a freelance composer, performer and music instructor in the metropolitan Atlanta area.