David Stanley BEM
Founder and CEO of The Music Man Project Charity
BEM MMUS BMUS NPQH PGCE CF FRSA
David established The Music Man Project as a separate charity in 2019 to meet growing national and international demand for his accessible music service, not just for the learning-disabled community, but also for people who are blind or partially sighted, and for those suffering poor mental health, terminal illness, dementia and other disability or disadvantage.
David studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, King’s College London, the Royal Academy of Music (learning piano under Patsy Toh) and the Institute of Education. He holds a Master’s Degree in Musical Analysis, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education and the National Professional Qualification for Secondary School Headship (NPQH).
David’s teaching is the basis of PhD research at the Royal College of Music into the effect of active music participation on well-being for adults with learning disabilities. He has presented at Berklee College's ABLE Assembly in Boston, the Manhattan School of Music in New York and the UK's National Music Mark Conference. David also delivered a spotlight session at the Inclusive and Supportive Education Conference (ISEC21), hosted by the UCL Centre for Inclusive Education and the National Association of Special Educational Needs (NASEN). His students closed the conference with a 20-minute performance.
David's Music Man Project won the 2016 Kids Count Inspiration 'Best Creative Contribution' Award and the 2020 Danny Award in New York for Best Performance of a Cover Song. His famous Music Man Project Student Ambassadors have delivered performance workshops to over 10,000 mainstream Primary School children, teaching diversity and acceptance through playing and singing alongside adults with learning disabilities. His students also opened the National Lottery’s 25th birthday TV advert “Three is the Magic Number”, bringing his charity to the attention of millions of people.
Working in partnership with other organisations, musicians, teachers and most notably the Salvation Army, David and his famous Music Man Project UK Student Ambassadors deliver performances and workshops around the UK to inspire more people to offer regular music teaching to their local learning-disabled community. Since 2015 he has transformed his original teaching model into a globally accessible music education and performance service, launching new regional Music Man Projects across the UK, including 'The Music Man Project Strawberry Field' in Liverpool. In 2016 David led a 10-day teaching and research trip to children’s homes, day centres and an orphanage in South Africa. This was followed by a visit to Northern Ireland to support a music teacher in Enniskillen. In the same year, David delivered workshops for London-based clients and a seminar for undergraduates at the Royal College of Music. In 2018 he established the Music Man Project in India during a 7-day teaching and training visit to schools, colleges and care homes in Bangalore. In 2019 David launched The Music Man Project in Nepal in partnership with the Dolma Foundation. After just 6 hours of teaching, children from the Navjoti Special School in Kathmandu performed their first ever Music Man Project concert in front of 300 people, including the British Ambassador to Nepal, the late Richard Morris. In 2020 David visited The Philippines to teach children in poor communities traumatised by natural disasters. David carries out this work on a voluntary basis, in fulfilment of his dream to reach every county in England, every country in the UK and every continent in the world. He is exploring how far the universal language of music can free the constraints placed on people with disabilities across the world, joining them together through song, country by country.
David’s varied career has brought him into contact with some major figures from music, entertainment and politics, including Evelyn Glennie, Patti Boulaye, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Prime Ministers and other Government Ministers. He has played the world-famous Tower Ballroom Wurlitzer theatre organ at Blackpool and has been the musical director for award-winning amateur theatre productions and premieres. He is also resident pianist with the M7 Swing Band.
Before launching The Music Man Project, David was the Deputy Head Teacher of a secondary school with specialist Performing Arts status, and the Musical Director of an onsite post-16 Performing Arts College. His former students include winnder of the BBC's search for Joseph, the singer and actor, Lee Mead. During this time, David wrote 12 volumes of text books for the Key Stage 1-3 Music Curriculum.
Since 2009 David has raised over £250,000 for charitable causes through his concerts and fundraising activities, including performing 24 continuous hours of piano music at the end of a pier and playing a keyboard strapped to the back of a mobility scooter whilst walking for 12.5 miles. David produced a celebrity fundraising calendar and composed 8 pieces for solo piano which were interpreted by artists from around the world in an international music and art competition for charity. He is also a trustee of the Dolma Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded in 2003 to alleviate poverty by investing in education, health and sustainable businesses in Nepal. David was one of the first Hate Crime Ambassadors in the country and served as a non-party voluntary councillor for Leigh-On-Sea Town Council between 2011 and 2015. He is also the patron of the Yardarm Folk Orchestra.
Following his Royal Albert Hall concert, David’s next big ambition is to showcase The Music Man Project on Broadway.