“Ronald Braunstein traveled the world to lead some of its finest orchestras,” writes Erin Trahan on Wednesday (10/9) at Boston radio station WBUR. “Throughout his career, he struggled with bipolar disorder…. It wasn’t until he was in his 40s that he finally went public with his diagnosis. ‘It just felt so liberating,’ he says. It was a feeling he wanted to share with others struggling with their own mental health diagnoses. So in 2011, he started the Me2/ Orchestra in Burlington, Vermont, with his now-wife Caroline Whiddon, who serves as the executive director. In the early years, Braunstein and Whiddon would commute to Boston once a week to try to get a second orchestra up and running. A new documentary called ‘Orchestrating Change,’ screening in the Boston area from Oct. 12 to Nov. 14, chronicles this period of the orchestra’s development. Me2/ Orchestra is … explicitly for people affected by mental health issues and addiction.… ‘My goal is not the conducting—it’s helping people,’ Braunstein says…. ‘Orchestrating Change’ … screenings are … followed by a panel discussion with Braunstein, Me2/ executive director Caroline Whiddon, members of the orchestra, including Corey Sweeney, and moderated by behavioral health experts.”
Posted October 10, 2019
