Ronald Braunstein

Ronald Braunstein (born July 27, 1955 in Shirley, Massachusetts) is an American orchestral conductor. He is currently the Music Director and Conductor of Me2/, the world's only classical music organization created for individuals living with mental illnesses and the people who support them. He lives in Malden, Massachusetts with his wife, Caroline.

Ronald Braunstein
Background information
Birth nameRonald Braunstein
Born (1955-07-27) July 27, 1955
Shirley, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation(s)Composer, conductor, author, lecturer
InstrumentsPiano, Violin
External video
You may listen to Ronald Braunstein performing Ralph Vaughn Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis with his Me2/Strings orchestra in 2015 here on archive.org

Education

Braunstein was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a child he played piano, and studied violin with Eugene Phillips of the Pittsburgh Symphony. As a teenager he began composing music and attended the North Carolina School of the Arts. He graduated with a diploma in music composition.

In 1973 Braunstein began his undergraduate degree at the Juilliard School of Music where he studied composition with Elliott Carter and Milton Babbitt. That same year he was awarded the BMI Student Composition Award.[1] He then changed his course of study and graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor of Music in conducting in 1978.

During the summers, Braunstein received further education while attending the Salzburg Mozarteum, Fontainbleau, and Tanglewood Music Center where he conducted in the masterclasses of Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa.

Early career

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.[2][3][4] He spent several years learning from Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic.

The Karajan Competition launched his career. Braunstein conducted orchestras all over the world, most notably the San Francisco Symphony[5], Berlin Philharmonic, Stuttgart Radio Orchestra, Svizzera-Italiana Radio Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta, Auckland Philharmonia, Kyoto Symphony, Osaka Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, the Hague Philharmonic and the Oslo Philharmonic. He also served on the conducting staff at the Juilliard School of Music[6][7] and the American Opera Center.

Me2/Orchestra
External video
You may watch Ronald Braunstein and his Me2/Orchestra performing Ottorino Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 3 in 2014 here on archive.org

Braunstein was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1985[8]. The ups and downs of his career often followed the ecstatic mania and devastating depression associated with this disease. In 2011, he decided to create his own ensemble that would be for people living with mental illnesses and those who support the social mission of fighting stigma.

Braunstein and Caroline Whiddon (whom he later married) co-founded Me2/ ("me, too"), the world's only classical music organization created for individuals with mental illnesses and the people who support them.[9] The mission of the organization is to fight stigma surrounding mental illness at every opportunity.

Me2/ launched its flagship orchestra in Burlington, Vermont in September 2011. Three years later, the organization expanded grew to include an orchestra which soon became its central hub. Braunstein serves as Music Director and Conductor of both orchestras. The organization has since expanded with an additional orchestra in Manchester, NH and a Flute Choir in Boston, MA.[10]

In the years since launching Me2/, Braunstein has received international media exposure for bringing attention to mental health issues. Braunstein and Me2/ have been profiled by the New York Times[11], Associated Press, BBC News[12], and Al Jazeera America[13].

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References
  1. "BMI official website student composer award page:".
  2. "James Helme Suteliffe (1979). "Braunstein Wins von Karajan Conductors Competition", Musical America–Berlin".
  3. 1.    "Raymond Ericson (1979-11-18). "Karajan's American", The New York Times".
  4. "Berlin Associated Press (1979-12-1). "U.S. Conductor Wins Competition", Sarasota Herald-Tribune".
  5. "(1981-7-1). "Braunstein, Della Larrocha Brighten the Night", San Francisco Chronicle".
  6. "Juilliard School of Music official website, history of opera page" (PDF).
  7. "Calendar listing (1983-10-21), JUILLIARD PHILHARMONIA, New York Magazine".
  8. Flanigan, Robin (December 2017). "Conductor Ronald Braunstein—Making Music, Fighting Stigma". bphope.
  9. "Caroline Whiddon (2014-9-9). "Me2/Orchestra Launches New Ensemble in Jamaica Plain", Jamaica Plain News".
  10. Gram, David (December 27, 2013). "For this orchestra, playing music is therapeutic". Boston Globe.
  11. Hollow, Michele C. (2019-01-29). "Fighting the Stigma of Mental Illness Through Music". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  12. "Franz Strasser and David Botti (2013-1-7). "Conductor with bipolar disorder on music and mental illness", BBC News".
  13. "Cath Turner (2014-4-30). "US Musicians Strike A Chord With Mentally Ill", Al Jazeera America".
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