Ronald Braunstein received his early musical training at The Juilliard School, where he studied composition with Elliott Carter. He then entered the conducting program, graduating with a Bachelor's of Music in orchestral conducting. He studied during the summers at the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Fontainebleau School, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Tanglewood Music Center where he conducted in the master classes of Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa.
In 1979, he won the First Prize Gold Medal in the Herbert von Karajan International Conducting Competition in Berlin, becoming the first American to win this most prestigious award. He spent the next several years apprenticing with Maestro Karajan and guest conducted orchestras across Europe, Asia and the United States.
Mr. Braunstein appeared with orchestras, most notably the San Francisco Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Stuttgart Radio Orchestra, Svizzera-Italiana Radio Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta, Auckland Philharmonia, Kyoto Symphony, Osaka Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague, and the Oslo Philharmonic.
He served on the conducting staff at the Juilliard School of Music, where he was the Music Director and Conductor of the pre-college orchestra for five seasons. During that time he also conducted Juilliard concerts and American Opera Center productions. Later, he was the Music Director and Conductor of the Mannes preparatory orchestra for four seasons.
In 1981 he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After negotiating the ups and downs of this condition for three decades, he decided to create an orchestra for people living with mental illness, as himself, and those who support them.
In 2011, he and his wife Caroline Whiddon created Me2/Orchestra in Burlington, Vermont. In 2014, Me2/Boston became the hub of the organization which also hosts affiliate ensembles in Portland, Oregon and Atlanta, Georgia.
If you would like to learn more about the Me2/Orchestra, please visit our website at:
Me2orchestra.org
In 1979, he won the First Prize Gold Medal in the Herbert von Karajan International Conducting Competition in Berlin, becoming the first American to win this most prestigious award. He spent the next several years apprenticing with Maestro Karajan and guest conducted orchestras across Europe, Asia and the United States.
Mr. Braunstein appeared with orchestras, most notably the San Francisco Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Stuttgart Radio Orchestra, Svizzera-Italiana Radio Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta, Auckland Philharmonia, Kyoto Symphony, Osaka Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague, and the Oslo Philharmonic.
He served on the conducting staff at the Juilliard School of Music, where he was the Music Director and Conductor of the pre-college orchestra for five seasons. During that time he also conducted Juilliard concerts and American Opera Center productions. Later, he was the Music Director and Conductor of the Mannes preparatory orchestra for four seasons.
In 1981 he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After negotiating the ups and downs of this condition for three decades, he decided to create an orchestra for people living with mental illness, as himself, and those who support them.
In 2011, he and his wife Caroline Whiddon created Me2/Orchestra in Burlington, Vermont. In 2014, Me2/Boston became the hub of the organization which also hosts affiliate ensembles in Portland, Oregon and Atlanta, Georgia.
If you would like to learn more about the Me2/Orchestra, please visit our website at:
Me2orchestra.org