Japanese American pianist Bretton Brown enjoys a diverse career as song accompanist, chamber musician, and coach. He lives in London and made his UK debut accompanying Renée Fleming and Christian McBride at Wigmore Hall. He has also appeared in recital at the Concertgebouw and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and in January 2024, he embarks on a recital tour of North America with Julia Bullock, culminating at Carnegie Hall.
In 2023, Brown returned to the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence as répétiteur/coach for the world premiere of Picture a day like this, the newest opera by Sir George Benjamin and Martin Crimp. His close collaboration with Benjamin also includes the world premiere of Lessons in Love and Violence (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden), and the American and Canadian premieres of Written on Skin. Among further projects with Benjamin are The Dream of the Song (Philharmonia Orchestra), Ligeti's Chamber Concerto in Aix, and performances with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, including at the BBC Proms, the Berliner Philharmonie, and the Elbphilharmonie.
Brown champions the music of our time, and in 2024 he returns for his second world premiere with Dutch National Opera—Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid’s The Shell Trial. He also prepared the world premiere of Zauberland for Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris and assisted Renée Fleming in preparing André Previn's final work, Penelope, written for her and premiered at Tanglewood.
Brown is on faculty at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London where he teaches pianists, coaches singers, and has curated several innovative song projects. He was visiting professor of collaborative piano at Oberlin Conservatory and has held residencies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Raised in Kentucky, he was educated at Yale, the New England Conservatory, and Juilliard. He won prizes for music and poetry at Yale and received Juilliard’s Richard F. French Prize for his dissertation on the life and music of Gustav Holst.