For 30 years, RPO Resound has been at the forefront of using music-making to enrich the lives of people in communities across the UK and internationally. 2023 marked RPO Resound’s 30th Anniversary, and we explore some of its life-changing projects that will continue in 2024 and beyond, hearing from musicians, practitioners and participants about the impact RPO Resound has had, and looking ahead to this next exciting chapter.
Mental Health
Research has shown that music, and in particular group music-making, can have a positive effect on mental health and wellbeing. Working with others on creative pursuits has been championed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of their ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’. Whilst benefits to wellbeing are happily a noted outcome from all strands of RPO Resound’s work, specific projects focussing on mental health make up a core part of our annual programme, working with participants of all ages and backgrounds from across the UK and in a variety of settings. Projects aim to support those experiencing challenges in managing and expressing emotions, developing skills, experiencing respite from rumination or negative thoughts, nurturing social connections and achieving a sense of purpose through responsibility to the group.
Recent projects have included working with Place2Be, a national children and young people’s mental health charity. RPO Resound curated a series of mindful listening activities in partnership with the charity’s Art Room, helping young people to express how they're feeling using different forms of art.
In Cambridge, RPO Resound worked with Cambridge Live and The Phoenix Centre – a specialised eating disorder unit for young people aged 12-18 based at the Ida Darwin Hospital in Cambridge – on a programme which aimed to improve mental health, encourage self-exploration and boost confidence through creativity. Through workshops involving elements of poetry and lyric writing, guided group improvisation and composition, young people receiving treatment at the centre created their own brand-new pieces of music.
Brent Music & Mental Health Programme
Following a successful pilot project in 2021–2022, 2023 saw our Brent Music & Mental Health Programme go from strength to strength. Developed with Brent Council and their adult and children’s social services, various project strands were designed to demonstrate how creative music-making alongside our professional musicians could support recovery for adults and adolescents in secure and community settings, bringing people together to create and perform high-quality music.
‘It was just wonderful… you can’t imagine the difference I saw in our people as a result of the event. We have been working with them for ages to get such a high-impact therapeutic response, and you folks come along and achieve this in one evening.’ - Danny Maher, CEO Ashford Place
An ambitious programme of work continues this autumn, with workshop leaders and RPO musicians supporting Brent residents from diverse backgrounds through a series of specifically tailored musical sessions. Participant groups include adults and adolescents living with mental health challenges, including anxiety and depression, drug or alcohol abuse, the experience of homelessness and other complex challenges, adults with learning disabilities and their informal family-member carers and in-patients within residential units.
Brent Mental Health Project 2023, The Yellow © Chris Winter
Crucially, access to RPO Resound is free for participants, but every project requires funding, and we are extremely grateful to the many Trusts and Foundations, corporations and individuals who have supported our work over the last 30 years. If you think you could be interested in supporting RPO Resound, please get in touch.
Discover more at rpo.co.uk/resound or contact Huw Davies, Deputy Managing Director: 020 7608 8825 /
RPO Resound: Celebrating 30 years of enriching communities through the power of music
30 years of RPO Resound: The impact of STROKESTRA®
30 years of RPO Resound: Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)