This past September, I attended my first virtual national psychiatric conference and by far my favorite session was called Me2/Classical Music for Mental Health.
The session started out with about 12 musicians who were all string players, wearing masks, socially distanced and in someone’s backyard on a sunny summer day in New England. The conductor was situated near a makeshift podium on the lawn and raised his arms for the downbeat. But this was not an ordinary orchestra; in fact, it was quite extraordinary because about half the musicians live with the diagnoses of Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, depression, anxiety or addiction. We all know the power of music to heal for the listeners but it is also healing for the people playing too.
The conductor mentioned above, Ronald Braunstein, and his wife, Caroline Whiddon, started this group, Me2/ (“me, too”) in 2011. Me2/ is the world’s only classical music organization created for individuals with mental illnesses and the people who support them. Me2/ offers an environment where people with and without mental illnesses work together in a “stigma-free zone.” In their orchestras and ensembles, acceptance is an expectation, patience is encouraged, and supporting each other is a priority.
Mr. Braunstein graduated the Juilliard School and in 1979 at the age of 24 became the first American to win the prestigious Herbert von Karajan International Conducting Competition, the so-called Olympics of conducting. He traveled the globe to conduct major orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Tokyo Symphony, the Stuttgart Radio Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony but his career was derailed by alternating periods of depression and mania. As he recalls in “Orchestrating Change,” an inspiring documentary recently released on PBS about his work with musicians living with mental illness, he realized as a young boy that something inside him was not right. “I would get very excited and then very, very sad,” he said. But not until age 30, when a crippling emotional crisis led to a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, did he know what his problem was.
As knowledge of Ronald’s diagnosis became public, his manager dropped him and the classical music community shunned him. He spent decades teaching when he was well but was determined to conduct again and was eventually hired by Caroline Whiddon, then executive director of an orchestra in Burlington, VT whose own career as a French horn player had been sidelined by disabling panic attacks, anxiety, and depression. Mr. Braunstein didn’t last a year on the job before he had an emotional setback. Once he was stabilized medically, he opted to form his own orchestra where he could be himself and recruit people like him, said Ms. Whiddon, who by then had become his wife. Together, they created the Me2/Orchestra that brings people together in a supportive community for mentally ill men and women who play instruments without stigma or judgement. There are no auditions and no obsessions with perfection. They play at non-traditional venues such as prisons, schools, recovery centers and hospitals to empower other people in dropping stigmas they may carry about themselves. There is always a Q &A after each performance with the audience.
The orchestra now has three branches: one in Burlington, VT, another in Boston, and a third in New Hampshire, in addition to two chamber music ensembles in Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine. Though the pandemic has slowed down their expansion, the hope is after the pandemic ends to start groups all over the country where the only requirement is to bring your own instrument. In addition to performance fees, the Me2 groups are supported by contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations and the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.
Rick Soshensky is a music therapist in Kingston, NY who plays instruments with people with serious mental health problems. Unlike verbal communication, he stated “music involves a different part of the brain and a different way to interface with the world. It’s outside the cognitive realm. It gets the cognitive part out of the way and gets the intuitive part engaged, the part of the brain that is not damaged.” Music not only bypasses our rational side but helps us get in touch with our emotional life. Whatever ails you, there’s usually a way music can help.
To the members in the Me2/Orchestra, Mr. Braunstein is a conductor, friend, and mentor who has brought people together to form a family that plays music together. In this supportive community, everyone feels a sense of purpose, self-esteem, and confidence. Even if a member ends up in the hospital or perhaps even jail, they are always welcomed back to the next rehearsal. My hope is that this healing model will expand in the coming years especially after the pandemic ends. In the meantime, you may wish to check out the terrific documentary, “Orchestrating Change” (orchestratingchangethefilm.com).