On an early July evening, Corvallis community members gathered at Central Park for a night of music. As the sun set, teething toddlers, seniors with gray hair, and everyone in between sat in lawn chairs and on blankets in the grass. Some spectators brought their dinners to eat while watching the Corvallis Community Band perform.
The weekly summer concerts typically center around themes like the ‘60s or the outdoors. On July 24, the theme was perhaps less whimsical. “Darkness into Light: A Concert for Mental Health” took the audience on a trip spanning 11 musical pieces and explored all different emotions to bring awareness to mental health and its struggles.
The event was born as a tribute to a former saxophone player and student at Oregon State that conductor Cheryl Martinez had known. Martinez knew the student was having a hard time getting through the days, but she could see how important music was for him.
“His lifeline was music,” she said.
After graduating, he moved to Portland to pursue a career in music. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he died by suicide. She found out about his death three months later.
Though she didn’t name the student, Martinez dedicated the concert to him and to everyone struggling with mental health problems.
And to keep the conversation going, Martinez is lending out the scores from the concert she got from the Western International Band Clinic to middle and high schools to begin conducting their own discussions about mental health.
Martinez believes there is a close connection between music and mental health.
“(Music) provides an emotional release for some people,” she said. “It also provides strength and a community, a support structure.”
The scores rose and fell in volume and intensity, sweeping from dramatic crescendos with dissonance and flair, then back to soft and simple melodies. Trombones and tubas soared in synchronicity with the flutes, French horns and oboes, with all 60 band members working in harmony.
Across the grassy clearing, tables were set up with information about other mental health programs, including one area with four Welcome Waggers therapy dogs to pet.
During the concert, Martinez stressed the importance of discussing mental health and tearing down social taboos around the topic, sharing quotes from the composers who wrote each piece.
Many of the songs were part of the collection entitled “The Unbroken Project,” composed by Randall Standridge, a composer who was very open about his struggles with mental health.
Martinez’s love for music started in grade school. Her dad played the clarinet and she followed in his footsteps. She attended Washington State University and graduated with a degree in music education.
Growing up in a small town where the struggles of people with mental health problems were not discussed, Martinez didn’t understand how mental health affected people until college, when a friend of hers was struggling. When she became a teacher, she saw many of her students experiencing problems related to mental health.
“As a teacher, you try to do what you can and help,” she said “And in some cases, you become a coach or parent for them as they’re searching.”
Members of the Corvallis Community Band said they, too, believe it’s important to discuss mental health openly.
“I think the mental health theme is pretty important especially in the music community,” said Noam Raich, a percussionist in the band. “I would expect that a lot of musicians who are struggling happen to have a lot more mental health incidents, because the industry is a lot more rigorous.”
Erin Mendelson, who recently graduated from Oregon State, played French horn on Tuesday night. She noted that mental health is a theme that’s not touched on in music a lot and stressed the need for change in that area.
“The arts are a way for people to communicate feelings and emotions and thoughts that aren’t easily accessible for some individuals,” Martinez said. “To reach out to others in the community to provide entertainment, to provide a commonality, a joy, participation in some cases, or just as an audience. It pulls people together.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, help is available. Call or text 988 for 24-hour, confidential support, or visit 988lifeline.org.
— Mariella Guzman, Sheldon High School
— Erin Reaney, Reynolds High School