Dovetail Orchestra: Can a community music group improve mental health for asylum seekers and refugees in Bristol?

The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports 108 million people were forcibly displaced by the end of 2022. As of November 2022, the UK was home to:

231,597 refugees
127,421 people waiting for their asylum application to be processed
5,483 stateless persons

Refugees and asylum seekers struggle with mental health and wellbeing issues. This can be the result of the trauma they experience before leaving their home country, as well as difficult experiences during their migration journey or the living conditions in their destination country.

Taking part in social events and local groups can improve mental health and wellbeing in refugees and asylum seekers. Community-based activities such as music programmes can have a positive impact on mental health and can provide a sense of cultural acceptance and belonging.

This research focuses on the Dovetail Orchestra, a community-based music group for adult refugee and asylum seekers in Bristol. It was launched in September 2022 and is made up of refugees, asylum seekers and local musicians with support from local volunteers. The orchestra meets every week to co-create music based on traditional songs from members’ countries of origin. Following rehearsals, the group gather in a community centre to socialise.

Project aims

During this project we will explore how members understand and experience the orchestra. We will look at what motivates them to take part in the orchestra and what they expect from it. We will also explore what allows them to take part and what stands in their way.

We will carry out interviews and organise group discussions with:

members with asylum seeking or refugee status
local musician members
community volunteers supporting the orchestra

What we hope to achieve

We want to understand how community music programmes can:

support intercultural acceptance
improve mental health and sense of wellbeing
promote empowerment and sense of achievement among orchestra and local community members

It’s important to capture the voices of the people whose lives are impacted by programmes such as the Dovetail Orchestra. We hope our findings will help to make social participation programmes better in future.