Biography
Currently based in Seattle, WA, Mitchell is originally from Centerville, Ohio. He began playing percussion in 2005 and spent most of his time studying with Michael LaMattina, the principal percussionist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and Professor of Percussion at Miami University (Oxford, OH). In 2012, he went on to study at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. While at Indiana University, Mitchell received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in percussion performance with an outside study in composition. He spent time studying with a wide variety of percussion and composition professors including Kevin Bobo, John Tafoya, Michael Spiro, Steve Houghton, Jim Rupp, Craig Hetrick, P.Q. Phan, and Aaron Travers.
Mitchell is an active performer and enjoys performing in a wide variety of musical contexts. You can catch Mitchell performing with regional orchestral and chamber ensembles, as part of his free improvisation duo with percussionist/composer Stephen Karukas, as a soloist, with Dr. Derek Ganong (Professor of Trumpet/Director of Jazz Studies; Boise State University) as part of Uncharted Duo, and with local indie bands. Along with live performance, Mitchell has also been actively involved in recording music at home and with other musicians in the area.
As an active composer, Mitchell has had compositions premiered around the country and performed internationally. Currently, he is working on commissions for people around the country that range from solo contemporary classical music to soundtracks for visual and interactive media. Mitchell enjoys composing all types of music and is always looking for a new compositional challenge to expand his abilities as a composer. Mitchell has found an interest in composing electro-acoustic music involving backing tracks, applying live audio processing to acoustic instruments, and experimenting with visual accompaniment. Aside from original compositions, Mitchell also enjoys arranging anything from classical guitar music to video game music for a variety of different performance contexts.
Mitchell began teaching in 2009 and has taught students of all ages and skill levels since then. Most recently, Mitchell founded Seattle Percussion Academy where he teaches private and group lessons while also offering clinic, masterclass, and performance opportunities for his students. During the 2021-2022 school year, Mitchell held the position of Visiting Assistant Professor of Percussion/Music Technology at Boise State University (Boise, ID). During the 2017-2018 school year, Mitchell was one of four associate instructors of percussion at Indiana University (Bloomington, IN). He has presented multiple clinics and masterclasses at high schools and universities around the country. During the 2018-2019 school year, he was the assistant percussion director at Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana.
