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and the prevention of sickness in Cornwall and The Isles of Scilly
can apply for grants to help reach their objectives
Bodmin Wellbeing Orchestra
In March 2024, the Duchy Health Charity awarded a grant of £3,164 to Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) to launch their plans for a Wellbeing Orchestra in Bodmin.
One of the UK’s leading Orchestras, the BSO is passionate about using music to improve mental health. Since 2019 their Bristol Recovery Orchestra, run in partnership with Bristol Drugs Project, has helped people in participants in their recovery from addiction, and the aim is to roll out this proven model to other locations across the South West.
On 7 March, a BSO team hosted by IntoBodmin met with local Health and Social Care professionals for a one-day launch event. The event was designed to explain how the BSO works, find out about gaps in healthcare provision, and identify potential partners for a Bodmin Wellbeing Orchestra.
“There was a clear demonstration of how music breaks down barriers and expectations. There is an element of it creating a sense of equality, dissipating wider barriers and bringing a focus on talent and creativity.”
BSO were joined by participants from the local NHS Cornwall Foundation Trust, Cornwall Mind and Volunteer Cornwall, all of them bringing a wealth of experience and local knowledge. BSO Associate Musician Matt Harrison, a community-music specialist who lives in Bodmin, led the day’s activities.
A key element was the involvement of three members of the Bristol Recovery Orchestra, who talked movingly about their own lived experience of addiction, and painted a compelling picture of how music has helped their recovery.
Sophie Wilsdon, Creative Communities Lead with Bristol Drugs Project, demonstrated music’s ability to lift mood by teaching the group to sing Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds in three-part harmony, and Matt Harrison led an instrumental workshop in which experienced and novice musicians joined forces to play a song.
Following the launch event, the BSO team followed up leads, talking with local people and organisations to agree the next steps.
A three-month pilot launched in January 2025, in partnership with Cornwall Mind and IntoBodmin. Led by Matt Harrison, fortnightly sessions in the newly refurbished IntoBodmin community centre brought participants together in a safe, supportive environment where they could listen to, create and play music as a group. Sessions were designed and evaluated around the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ model in support of music playing a key role in people’s ongoing recovery from mental ill health.