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David Stanley — The Kind 50

David Stanley in a white jacquard dinner jacket and bow tie, a headset microphone on, conducting with his arms flung wide on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall, in black and white.

taking center stage

“Love Shine A Light” by Kimberley Rew, performed by The Music Man Project

David, in a white dinner jacket, sings into a microphone with his arm around a smiling musician with Down syndrome who holds a drumstick.

In 1999, David Stanley met Tony,
a young man with Down
syndrome. One day in July,
David sang 14 renditions of
Tony’s favorite song, “The 12
Days of Christmas,” until they
were both laughing. Seeing
Tony’s joy sparked an idea.

David, in a white jacket and bow tie, sings with his fist raised in front of a choir and drummers in blue and yellow shirts at a Music Man Project concert.

David began teaching a
music workshop for people
with learning disabilities that
would become The Music
Man Project. He made his
students a promise: one day
they would perform at the
Royal Albert Hall.

Schoolchildren in green blazers and hats, holding bells and a tambourine, sit around a man playing a Yamaha keyboard in a decorated hall.
A woman in glasses and a plum jumper hugs two girls in blue tops.
David, in a white jacket and bow tie, hugs a laughing musician in a white shirt beside a piano on stage.
David, in a white jacket, punches the air on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall in front of a giant screen.

20 years later the dream came true

In 2019, The Music Man Project held a
concert at the Royal Albert Hall featuring
200 children and adults with learning
disabilities from across the UK. It was the
UK’s largest-ever celebration of its kind.

David stands on stage between two men in blue shirts, their hands joined and raised, with a crowd and a row of red drums behind them.

Since then, the project has
performed around the world, set
the world record for the largest
triangle ensemble, and received a
standing ovation from King Charles.

A young woman in a blue top lifts one arm beside a microphone under bright stage lights.

next stop: Broadway

David raised £150,000 on GoFundMe to
bring the production to New York, in honor
of the organization’s late president, who
dreamed of one day bringing the show
to Broadway.

David, in a white jacquard jacket, a bow tie and a blue pocket square, sings in front of a green screen with his hands open.
A choir and orchestra perform on stage in front of a screen reading “The Music Man Project”.

£150K

raised to bring The Music Man Project to New York

Champion accessibility

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