His work with Noe led to his employment with the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble from 2002 to 2006 as their Associate Conductor, where his responsibilities included leading subscription programs,[8][9] many world and U.S. premieres,[10][11] numerous multi-media productions,[12] and several recording projects.

He studied with Lorin Maazel at the Castleton Festival,[16] David Robertson, Gerard Schwarz, Gunther Schuller, Marin Alsop, Jorma Panula, and Larry Rachleff.

Mitchell was the youngest of ten semifinalists from a pool of over 500 applicants in the Third Sir Georg Solti International Conductors' Competition in 2006.

[20] While teaching at NIU, Mitchell was invited by his mentor Kurt Masur to audition to become Assistant Conductor of the Orchestre National de France.

[21] During his three-year tenure, he conducted the orchestra and assisted Masur and guest conductors such as Seiji Ozawa and Daniele Gatti at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and on tour.

In May 2010, after a two-year search including more than 150 candidates from around the world, Mitchell was appointed the ninth Music Director of Michigan's Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra.

In January 2013, Mitchell was invited by Franz Welser-Möst to become Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, a position he assumed at the beginning of the 2013-14 season.

[32][33][34] In September 2016, during his final season in Cleveland, Mitchell signed with manager Linda Marder of CM Artists New York to provide worldwide representation.

[35] After making a highly successful debut with the Colorado Symphony in July 2016,[36] Mitchell was named the orchestra's next music director in September 2016.

[42][43][44] In September 2021, after leading several subscription programs on their 2021 summer season, Mitchell was named Artistic Director & Conductor of the Sunriver Music Festival in Bend, Oregon.

[105][106] Mitchell regularly collaborates with the world's leading soloists, including Rudolf Buchbinder, Kirill Gerstein, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Leila Josefowicz, and Alisa Weilerstein.

[107] In June 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mitchell began recording videos at the piano from his home and releasing them via his YouTube channel.