Song Seeking Project report and songbook launched

‘Song Seeking: A Study of a Singing Project within Direct Provision’, a report authored by Dr Ailbhe Kenny, lecturer in music education at MIC, was launched online on Thursday, 24 September.

Dr Seán Doherty, Assistant Professor of Music at DCU's School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music, was commissioned to compose a new choral resource songbook informed by the Song Seeking Project workshops. His 'Song Seeking Songbook' has been published alongside the research report and is available here.

The Song Seeking Project, a cross-agency collaboration between Sing Ireland, MIC, DCU and the Irish Refugee Council (IRC) funded by Creative Ireland, took place in six Direct Provision centres during 2019 as a means of connecting asylum seekers with broader singing communities. Direct provision Centres in Clare, Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Laois and Monaghan took part in the six-month project, which included intergenerational group singing workshops, led by expert choral facilitators, and shared ‘Sing-In’ days with local choirs. The project culminated in a final large-scale ‘Big Sing: A Shared Celebration’ event at the National Concert Hall in June 2019.

The report reveals that the singing sessions within the Direct Provision centres created meaningful integration opportunities through shared music-making and performance across the diverse communities of people living within the centres. During the online launch, Dr Doherty stressed the importance of composing "accessible, inclusive vocal music" for the project, intended to build connections in communities and to bring people together through singing.

Hear an example of Dr Doherty's composing work from the songbook, performed by project participants, below.