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HELEN LYONS: It’s been a while since we heard from Michael Colburn, who in 2022 became Music Director of the Burlington chapter of the Me2 Orchestra for mental health, and with the ensemble’s upcoming performance in Vergennes, I took the opportunity to check in to find out how things are going four years into his tenure.
MICHAEL COLBURN: Oh, things are going great. I'm having a wonderful time with the orchestra, a wonderful bunch of people, very supportive, a very tight-knit group, as is the case with a lot of music ensembles. But especially, I think because of our mental health initiative and direction, it’s especially important for our ensemble. So it's just a wonderful bunch of people to work with. In general, our numbers are larger, and it's been really nice to see that kind of growth, and, to see also, how much more ambitious I've been able to be with the programming.It's been a lot of fun.
HELEN: For any listeners who are unfamiliar with Me2 Orchestra, can you give us a brief overview of the ensemble’s history and mission?
MICHAEL: It was founded by Ronald Braunstein, an incredible conductor who suffers from bipolar disorder, and this is a disorder that kind of derailed his own career and his own ability to make music. And so many years ago, he decided he wanted to start an ensemble for people like him. And the more and more he told his story to people, often he would hear the response, “You? Well, me too!” and that's where our name came from. And so our motto is that it's a stigma-free zone, because music can be a great support. It can be a great solace to people. But as performers, it can also be a double-edged sword because music can be a source of anxiety, and so the whole point of Me2 is to create an environment where we take the pressure off. It is indeed a stigma-free zone. There are no auditions required, and everyone knows that they're welcome. I've always felt that all of the musicians in my ensembles, I want them to have the most positive experience they possibly can have. And that, to walk away from that performance, feeling better about themselves and, feeling that joy of making music.
HELEN: And the group will be bringing that joy to Vergennes with a performance on Tuesday May 19th, in partnership with Counseling Service of Addison Country. I spoke with Taylor Morley, who became the executive director of the organization in January.
TAYLOR MORLEY: We are one of Vermont's designated agencies for mental and behavioral health services. We've been around since 1959 working with kiddos and adults on our mental health side, as well as folks in our intellectual and developmental disabilities community.
HELEN: What are you looking forward to about the performance?
TAYLOR: So this is our 2nd year partnering with Me2. I am looking forward to being present and being with the community. You know, I think there is this perception, right, that mental health, we've gotten past the barriers and the stigma when people need support or are looking to find community, and events like partnering with Me2 offer an opportunity to show there's still a little bit of room to grow, that the advocacy is still needed, and that there is a community, right? There are both the members of Me2 who have their own lived experiences, and there's everyone in the room at the same time who's there either because this resonates with them or with their family or their friends, and so it's an opportunity to just be present.
HELEN: And here’s Michael Colburn again to tell us a bit about the program, which focuses on music by American composers.
MICHAEL: Because it is this 250th anniversary year, with, I just see these concerts as a chance to really focus on American composers, some of whom are familiar and some of whom aren't. And on this concert, we've got two selections by one of the most familiar American composers, John Philip Sousa. We're going to finish the concert with the Stars and Stripes Forever, of course, his most famous march, but we're beginning with a work that's less known. Sousa, in addition to being the march king, loved to write operettas, and the very last operetta that he wrote was entitled The Glassblowers. It's also known as The American Maid. It is set in 1898, about the time of the Spanish-American War, and it begins in America but ends up in Cuba. So actually there are elements of this overture that have a little bit of a Latin groove to them. It's really unusual for Sousa.
HELEN: Tell me a bit about the work by contemporary composer Bruce Reiprich, When Quiet Comes, it’s so beautiful.
MICHAEL: It is quite different than anything else on the program. It's a chance certainly to lower the blood pressure and, and just revel in the luscious sounds that he creates for the strings and piano.
HELEN: Me2’s home base is Burlington, but it sounds like you are always expanding the area in which you perform…
MICHAEL: We do also enjoy the opportunities to perform in some unconventional spaces. In fact, we have, performed before at mental health facilities, in prisons - we really, revel in the chance to bring our music to people who might not otherwise be exposed to it and in some cases may not even know that they like classical music!
HELEN: Yes, it’s great to watch people discover classical music! Taylor, do you have any last thoughts about the Me2 orchestra’s upcoming performance in Vergennes?
TAYLOR: As a rural community in Addison County and Vermont as a state, you know, isolation, feeling separated, is a common theme that we're seeing in our work, and again, the Me2 partnership, at least for that one night, for CSAC allows us to bring together that broader community and, and start to work through some of those isolation feelings. Again, even if it's only for one night, sometimes you just need to, to plant that seed of community.
HELEN: The community will come together to celebrate music, joy, and America 250 with the Me2 Orchestra in partnership with the Counseling Service of Addison County, Tuesday, May 19 at 7 at the Vergennes High School Auditorium. To learn more about CSAC head to csac-vt.org, and to find out more about the Me2 Orchestra, head to Me2.org. My many thanks to Taylor Morley and Michael Colburn for speaking with me.
