Disability music charity aims to fulfil late MP Sir David Amess’s Broadway dream

A disability music charity that aims to challenge perceptions has set its sights on Broadway to fulfil a dream of its late president Sir David Amess.

The Music Man Project, an international music education charity for people with learning disabilities, was founded in Southend-on-Sea in Essex 25 years ago by musician and teacher David Stanley.

Sir David, who was MP for Southend West, presided over the charity for 20 years before his death in October 2021.

The late MP, who was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, had spoken of his dream for the music charity to “conquer Broadway”.

Mr Stanley, who hopes to take a group of 30 musicians to New York to perform on stage, has started a fundraising campaign to achieve Sir David’s goal.

“It was his dream so we want to make it happen, and we’ve got to make it happen because otherwise his murder kind of says that evil and tragedy can win,” Mr Stanley told the PA news agency.

The Music Man Project, which has 14 regional centres across the country, has performed across the UK and internationally.

In 2019, 200 of its musicians took part in a performance at the Royal Albert Hall in front of 3,000 people, in the UK’s largest celebration of accessible music-making.

The charity group has also performed at the London Palladium and at the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo in Canada in front of 20,000 people, accompanied by the Royal Air Force band.

“(Sir David) said, ‘We’ve conquered the Royal Albert Hall, we’ve conquered the London Palladium. Next stop is Broadway’,” Mr Stanley said.

“That’s the ultimate dream.”

He added: “Musicians with learning disabilities bring a certain magic.

“We specialise in music education leading to performance, it’s not music therapy.

“Music therapy is trying to correct something or treat something – what I do is give everybody the right and the opportunity to perform in front of thousands of people on the world’s biggest stages.

“It will not only change their lives, but it will change you and I when we watch them, it will reverse perceptions.

“If you’re a parent and you’ve got a child that’s got Down syndrome or is autistic or any other disability, you need hope, and you need people to say, actually, amazing things can be achieved.”

Mr Stanley hopes to raise more than £150,000 to fund their New York expedition, where the Music Man Project will perform on Broadway and deliver music workshops to schools and charities.

To find out more, visit the Music Man Project’s fundraising page here: www.gofundme.com/f/music-is-magic-on-broadway