Musicians with mental illness join inclusive orchestra

The pair wanted the orchestra to be open to everyone. All musical levels can participate, and no mental health diagnosis is required. But many of the musicians do have challenges. Led by

Braunstein, the Me2/Orchestra performs inside psychiatric hospitals, recovery centers, and correctional and rehabilitation facilities to help erase the stigma associated with mental illness.

Me2/Orchestra has outposts in Burlington, Vermont; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Boston. The story of the orchestra was told in a documentary called _Orchestrating Chang_e, in which the

musicians speak honestly about their struggles living with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and addiction. The 90-minute documentary follows the orchestra as it

rehearses, performs and prepares for a major concert on the same stage where Braunstein conducted his last professional concert. The more than 150 musicians who make up Me2/Orchestra are in

skilled hands. In 1979, at the age of 23, Braunstein became the first American to win the First Prize Gold Medal in the Herbert von Karajan International Conducting Competition in Berlin,

beating out roughly 600 competitors from around the world. During the depths of the pandemic, the orchestra could not meet due to social distancing restrictions. Now that the majority of

Me2/Orchestra musicians are fully vaccinated, smaller rehearsals indoors — with players socially distanced and, except for those on woodwind and brass instruments, masked — have begun. The

orchestra created a brief video performance that was shown during the Mental Health America Annual Conference in June, and it's hoping the two performances it booked for its full

ensemble in October will be able to take place. "A part of me has felt dead during the pandemic,” says Braunstein, who lives in Melrose, Massachusetts. “Now that rehearsals are starting

again, I feel like a human being. Without music, my life has no meaning." Over time, affiliated Me2/Orchestra groups have formed throughout New England and in Portland, Oregon — and

one is just starting up in Aarhus, Denmark. Expansion plans include chamber music ensembles in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Maine. Getting back together again is necessary for this group, says

cofounder Whiddon, 51, who plays in the orchestra on “an old clunker of a French horn” held together in spots with duct tape.