NAMI Ask the Expert: The Me2/Orchestra: Using Music as Part of the Recovery Journey

Ronald Braunstein

Ronald Braunstein is the Music Director and Co-Founder of the Me2/Orchestra. He received his musical background at the Juilliard School, Salzburg Mozarteum, Fontainbleau and the Tanglewood Music Center. After his graduation, he won the Gold Medal in the Herbert von Karajan International Conducting Competition and spent the following four years mentoring with von Karajan in Berlin. He has conducted the San Francisco Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonia, Israel Sinfonietta, Tokyo Symphony and Stuttgart Radio Orchestra, among others. Braunstein was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1985. This led him to launching Me2/Orchestra, the world’s only classical music organization dedicated to erasing the stigma surrounding mental illness. He currently conducts the organization’s orchestras located in Boston, Mass., and Manchester, N.H., while providing the artistic vision for all of the Me2/ orchestras, ensembles and affiliate programs.

Caroline Whiddon

Caroline Whiddon is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Me2/Orchestra. Whiddon previously served as the Executive Director of the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association. During her 13-year tenure, the organization nearly tripled its student enrollment, completed a successful $2.1 million capital campaign, made its Carnegie Hall debut with an innovative program featuring all-living composers, and toured internationally. Whiddon has served as the Chair of the Youth Orchestra Division of the League of American Orchestras, providing leadership in her field at the national level. She is a graduate of the Snelling Center for Government’s Vermont Leadership Institute. She received her bachelor’s degree in Performance from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied French Horn with Verne Reynolds. She was diagnosed with depression, anxiety disorder and panic attacks in her early 20s.

Carole Furr

Carole Furr is a resident of Richmond, Vt. She is a graduate of Harvard College with a degree in physics and works as an accountant. She is an experienced French Horn player, sings alto in the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus and enjoys English country dancing. She is a former treasurer and board member of NAMI Vermont. Furr is a charter member of the Me2/Orchestra, having taken part since its founding in 2011.

Margie Friedman and Barbara Multer-Wellin

Margie Friedman and Barbara Multer-Wellin are both EMMY award-winning producers with years of non-fiction television experience. They have produced shows for CBS, NBC, ABC, HBO, Showtime, Lifetime, HGTV, Disney Channel and others. Their previous films have aired on PBS, including the prestigious series “Independent Lens.”