Music For Refugees' Philip Feinstein brings musical message to Orange

"Refugees have a large amount of stress," he explained.

"And music helps refugees to ease that stress.

"That is why we use music - to help the refugees with their stress."

The manager of the charity Music For Refugees, which has been running for the past 14 years, explained that he and his team collect instruments which have been donated to them by the public. They are then given to refugees and asylum seekers, along with some instruction on how to play.

On Monday afternoon the volunteer teacher was accompanied by fellow musicians Grace Hickey and Hugh Murray to help spread the message about the power of music.

Refugees and asylum seekers who live in the Orange region were given free instruments and provided instruction on how to play, before the trio treated those gathered to some tunes.

According to Mr Feinsetin, of the 20 or so people who came to meet with the musicians, around half were refugees and asylum seekers who had settled in the region.

"We got them to talk about how music can be valuable in their lives," Mr Feinstein said.

The Music for Refugees charity has been running for the past 14 years, teaching music classes to children and adults inside immigration detention centres and also in the general community.

The program began in Villawood Detention Centre in 2009 before expanding to Manus Island, Christmas Island and Nauru, among others.

In addition to helping refugees in Australia, Music For Refugees also assists Burundian refugees - half a million of which have had to flee to Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya to escape civil unrest in Burundi.

The charity has established points for members of the public to donate musical instruments throughout the country, including through the Uniting Churches and Emanuel Synagogue.

For more information about donating an instrument or volunteering as a music teacher, visit: https://musicforrefugees.org/