This report summarises the findings from ten years of evaluation of the In Harmony Liverpool project. The aim of the project were to use orchestral music to improve the lives and opportunities of children living in deprived communities. In the course of ten years over 2,000 children have taken part. The impacts of this programme of work is evidenced through case studies, qualitative research with children and adults, and quantitative data from surveys.
The report notes that the voices of children have been ‘at the heart of our inquiry’. A central finding from this longitudinal evaluation is that In Harmony Liverpool, helped to improve children’s life chances and increase ‘resilience, aspiration, wellbeing, confidence, self-esteem, mood, concentration, motivation and their sense of happiness and determination. Positive impacts are also evidenced on family life, and a wider sense of civic pride in Liverpool.
The author is careful, however, to note that while there maybe health benefits for children from the enhancement of wellbeing evidenced in the report, this has not been conclusively shown in quantifiable terms.

Burns, S. (2019) In Harmony Liverpool: 2009-2019 Reflections on 10 Years of Learning. Liverpool: Liverpool Philharmonic.