Festival City Symphony Highlights Music and Mental Health Through Work by Composer Autumn Maria Reed
MILWAUKEE, WI (April 2, 2026) — Festival City Symphony will feature Wisconsin-based composer Autumn Maria Reed and her powerful orchestral work Mental Health Suite at its upcoming Saturday Classics concert, “Faith, Persistence, and Celebration,” 2:00 p.m., Saturday, April 18, 2026, at the Bradley Symphony Center in Milwaukee.
Autumn Maria Reed is a Wisconsin-based composer, orchestrator, sound designer, and Berklee College of Music alumna whose work often explores themes of identity, trauma, resilience, and healing through music. She frequently collaborates with ensembles such as the Black String Triage Ensemble and Black Diaspora Symphony Orchestra, organizations that perform and compose music for trauma survivors. These ensembles were featured in the PBS documentary Black Strings (2023). Reed is also a strong mental health advocate and is passionate about helping end the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Reed composed Mental Health Suite during an extremely difficult period in her life in 2022–2023 while working as an interim long-term substitute Spanish teacher in Pewaukee. She wrote much of the music during her prep periods as a way to cope and reflect on her experiences and the struggles of those around her.
“The composition is personal, but the emotions are collective,” Reed explains. “Most of us are carrying some form of mental illness…I spent my early adulthood struggling, but I have found light, and I hope that others struggling will find their light.”
The four-movement suite reflects the emotional and psychological journey of acquired mental illness:
“The Origin Story” represents trauma,
“The Persistent Past” represents depression,
“The Fearful Future” represents anxiety, and
“As If Nothing Happened” represents masking symptoms.
Selections from the suite were featured at the American Composers Orchestra EarShot Readings and League of American Orchestras Conference in Houston, Texas, where movements from the work received an official premiere with ROCO under Maestra Mei-Ann Chen. In 2025, the full suite was performed by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol as part of Musical Landscapes in Color, a multi-year project showcasing orchestral works by living composers of color.
Beyond her work as a composer, Reed is an advocate for mental health awareness and has previously connected with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Through her music and outreach, she hopes to foster empathy, understanding, and patience for those who may be struggling with mental health challenges.
She often speaks about the connection between the arts, identity, and mental health, and shared the following message:
“Having a mental illness is a huge stigma. Many people feel like they are the experts in your diagnosis. They are not. It’s important to consult with multiple professional healthcare providers. Unfortunately, this isn’t as accessible in our country, but maybe someday.
Don’t let anyone steal your voice in your life’s story. You can tell yourself that ‘I can be the hero of this story and save the day’ as long as you don’t take advantage of others. The arts are about human expression, and you don’t have to stick to how the story’s always been. I encourage everyone to study or appreciate the arts because they teach patience and self-empathy. This is another reason to have funding for the arts. I am blessed with the knowledge and guidance provided by all my music and art teachers and professors.”
Reed, whose own journey has been supported by mental health professionals of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), will join Music Director Carter Simmons for the Saturday, April 18th performance to offer personal insights into her composition. During the week, she will meet with student composers and musicians of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, where Simmons serves as Artistic and Music Director, to discuss her career as a professional composer, her creative process, and the inspiration behind the Mental Health Suite. Festival City Symphony is honored to harness the power of music and to advance mental health awareness in service to the broader community.
“I grew up as a minority in Madison, Wisconsin, and constantly felt misunderstood,” Reed said. “So I turned to composing, arranging, and producing music as a healing outlet. My message to young people is never give up. I’ve tried and failed numerous times throughout my life, but my orchestral music has now been performed on three continents. You never know where life will take you.”
Festival City Symphony’s April 18 concert, “Faith, Persistence, and Celebration,” will also include Adolphus Hailstork’s Sonata da Chiesa and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8. This performance marks the final Saturday Classics concert of the 2025–26 season.
Audience members are encouraged to reserve seats in advance. Tickets can be reserved online, and additional information about directions and parking at the Bradley Symphony Center is available on the Festival City Symphony website: https://festivalcitysymphony.org/orchestra-concert-schedule/
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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