Musicians in Exile

Musicians in Exile is a community project for local asylum seekers and refugees, centred on sharing the music of their home cultures. Professional facilitators help the ensemble shape their rehearsals, but what and how they play and perform is up to the musicians themselves. There is a great deal of intercultural interaction between the musicians, supporting each other musically and performing in mixed languages and styles. As many asylum seekers flee without their instruments, these are purchased where possible and given to the musicians on long-term loan. Once every two months, they perform in Glasgow, livestreaming the concerts on their Facebook page. This gives everyone a regular goal and also presents the musicians to the wider public. Legally forbidden to work, playing in the ensemble offers the musicians an outlet to give back to their host communities. Music is a universal language, with the power to bridge cultural and language barriers - asylum seekers who are still mastering English, as well as audiences unfamiliar with the cultures of new Scots, find this particularly meaningful. Through the group, the musicians build a new sense of family, networks with local musicians and retrieve their intrinsic cultures, benefiting their own well-being and that of the wider community. Musicians in Exile, recently won the National Diversity Award as Community Organisation for Race, Religion & Faith 2019 and the 'Epic' Award for Scotland 2019 MIE is run by the organisation ‘Glasgow Barons’ based in Govan. Saeed Rezazadeh: Graduated from Conservator Tehran and he plays Tar, Setar and Oud for 20 years Marzieh Ghayur: Chemicla Engineer and plays Daf for 7 years Aref Ghorbani: Persian Classical Singer for 10 years/ Masters in Animal Genetics and Breeding Amin Khosravi: Tonbak Player for 10 years