Music for Wellbeing

Scottish Ensemble believes that music has the power to improve wellbeing. Our Music for Wellbeing sessions combine live music with guided listening and techniques to use music in your day-to-day life. The aim: to help people find a moment of calm, combat stress and anxiety, and lift their mood.

This area of our work has evolved from a multi-year partnership with Maggie’s Centres and has been informed by our research undertaken with Maggie’s and via an ongoing collaboration with the University of Stirling and Children in Scotland (supported by the Emerging Minds Network). This research has explored and evidenced how live music can help improve young people’s mental health.

Music for Wellbeing is increasingly fundamental to how we think about our performances inside the concert hall. In Autumn 2024 we toured Scotland with Resound, an immersive deep listening experience that gave audiences a new perspective on live music and how it affects their wellbeing.

Our partnership with Maggie’s started in 2017 and has been a core part of our annual planning ever since. Maggie’s is a charity that supports people who are living with cancer, including patients, families, and medical professionals. Their ethos is to focus on creating a safe space for people to come together and be supported through the spectrum of challenges that a cancer diagnosis can lead to. Through emotional support and practical advice, Maggie’s centres provide an essential care service, free to anyone who needs it.

We started bringing our sessions to Maggie’s centres with the intent of creating a space for visitors to share an intimate musical experience, discuss their thoughts and feelings about the music, and develop and practice skills in mindfulness.

Sessions in Maggie’s centres are led by a group Scottish Ensemble musicians who facilitate participants in exploring the transformative power of music and the impact this may have on one’s quality of life while living with a complex health diagnosis. Participants listen to musical pieces of varying moods to tap into different emotions, discussing the journey the music has taken them on.

In 2026 Scottish Ensemble and Maggie’s enhance their collaboration with the announcement that Scottish Ensemble will be Maggie’s Music for Wellbeing Partner. This commitment will see musicians visit all eight Maggie’s centres in Scotland three times a year, doubling the current provision and ensuring that people in the Highlands and Aberdeen can access the same uplifting experiences as those in Edinburgh or Dundee.  

Alongside our work in Maggie’s centres we have also developed a programme of Music for Wellbeing work for Schools.

Our sessions in Schools primarily focus on two age groups: S1 students grappling with the transition from primary to secondary education, and S4-5 students coping with the pressure of their exams. Our research partnership with the University of Stirling and Children in Scotland has allowed us to develop this work effectively, prioritising how our sessions can provide beneficial outcomes to students and teachers.

In 2022 we also launched our digital Breathe for Schools project, which you can find here. This is a free resource for teachers to provide Music for Wellbeing sessions in their classrooms. The programme is made up of several recorded sessions presented by Lucy Drever, featuring our musicians performing a wide range of pieces, alongside a lesson plan and activity pack to develop pupils’ skills in mindful listening.

Interested in arranging a Music for Wellbeing session for you School, Business or Community Group?

Get in touch with Emma, our Head of Artistic Planning & Production at emma.hunter@scottishensemble.co.uk to learn more about our Music for Wellbeing sessions.

Scottish Ensemble’s Music for Wellbeing programme is made possible with the generous support of funders, including Glasgow City Council Communities Fund, The Northwood Charitable Trust, The Gannochy Trust, The McGlashan Charitable Trust and The Bridge Awards.