MITCHELL JETT SPENCER is a composer and pianist fresh to New York City by way of the rural mountains of Washington state. His work reflects an equal reverence for the formal traditions of western art music and the raw energy of American folk, rock, and punk music. Mitchell composes for the communities and ensembles he knows intimately, including recent works such as Logjam for the Gorge Sinfonietta of Hood River, OR, and Folktales for the Hood River String Quartet (premiered January 2026).

As a pianist, Mitchell frequently collaborates with the Gorge Sinfonietta—past performances including Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (2024) and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 (2022)—and will return this June as soloist for Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. In 2024, he toured Oregon, Colorado, and Utah with his “Sound of Movement” solo piano program, including works of Guillaume Connesson, Karol Szymanowski, and Thomas Adès.

Other upcoming projects include a new ensemble work for the 2026 Emerging Composers Intensive and an anticipated solo piano program in late 2026. When not behind a keyboard, Mitchell can be found roller blading through the streets of Manhattan.