Celebrating The Music Man Project’s West End Debut
“Music is Magic
at the London Palladium”
21st June 2015
Never before has the Palladium stage been graced by a
company of performers with learning disabilities.
For one very special Sunday Night at the London Palladium,
watch them become West End stars!
company of performers with learning disabilities.
For one very special Sunday Night at the London Palladium,
watch them become West End stars!
David Stanley, who had previously only run a Saturday morning school, finally decided to give up his job as a deputy head teacher in a mainstream secondary school in order to establish The Music Man Project as a full time provision. This major decision was made after he was truly inspired by a moving account from a parent of a child with severe autism, that he had been teaching, which explained how the morning school had made such a huge impact on her daughter’s life. Her daughter, who would scream with fear when her mother left the room - to someone who sang solo in front of 1500 people at the Cliffs Pavilion. Something that David made possible.
The Music Man Project (a registered charity) is the UK’s only permanent full time music education service for children and adults with learning disabilities. It works with 3 year olds to 70 year olds and aims to extend its impact to other communities around the country.
“Music is Magic” will be the first ever concert of its kind in a West End theatre, in which children and adults with learning disabilities truly are the stars. It promises to be life changing for the performers and audience alike. The variety concert will also witness the premiere of a specially written new musical called “From the Asylum to the Palladium”, which tells the story of “mental” hospitals where people with learning disabilities were treated as patients alongside single mothers, the mentally ill, homosexuals and poorly behaved children. The journey from this dreadful past to the current ‘care in the community’ and the relative opportunities available today is told by the performers themselves, and will be a moving and stark reminder of the continual struggle faced by people with learning disabilities over many years.
The group’s ultimate aims are to raise the profile of what people with learning disabilities can actually achieve and to establish other versions of the Music Man Project around the UK and even beyond. Two more centres are opening after the Easter holidays, which is an amazing achievement for them.
David says, “We are also looking for sponsorship or donations of any kind to help us meet all the costs. As you can imagine it is not cheap to hire the London Palladium and even with the charity rate we have paid £15,000 for the privilege!” He adds, “We also have to find funding for seating, staging, hire of a grand piano, professional musicians and West End quality arrangements of all our songs (95% of the concert features brand new original music we have written – including the charity single Music is Magic for release on iTunes in the Summer).”
The Music Man Project would love to sell as many tickets as possible for the Palladium concert on 21st June. “Our performers so deserve a capacity audience. I am determined that this particular Sunday Night at the London Palladium is going to be truly spectacular!” enthuses David. “Along with the 100 or so student performers, our client special schools, the MMP community choir and a 15 piece concert band, we are also trying to attract celebrities to make an appearance on stage between the musical numbers. The original Tiller Girls will be there and we are hopeful that Sir Bruce Forsyth may be able to make a very special appearance at the start.”
With David’s passion and enthusiasm and a fantastic team of teachers supporting him, I’m sure that the The Music Man Project is certainly on course for a successful evening of entertainment for all.
Click here to book tickets for Music is Magic at the London Palladium!
Watch the Music is Magic trailer here
The concert trailer can also be viewed here: http://youtu.be/6RA8hcNlUSc.
Check out their website www.themusicmanproject.com for lots more videos and photos of the group in action with their previous projects and if you would like to help in any way.
Facebook: The Music Man Project
Twitter: @MusicManProject
The Music Man Project (a registered charity) is the UK’s only permanent full time music education service for children and adults with learning disabilities. It works with 3 year olds to 70 year olds and aims to extend its impact to other communities around the country.
“Music is Magic” will be the first ever concert of its kind in a West End theatre, in which children and adults with learning disabilities truly are the stars. It promises to be life changing for the performers and audience alike. The variety concert will also witness the premiere of a specially written new musical called “From the Asylum to the Palladium”, which tells the story of “mental” hospitals where people with learning disabilities were treated as patients alongside single mothers, the mentally ill, homosexuals and poorly behaved children. The journey from this dreadful past to the current ‘care in the community’ and the relative opportunities available today is told by the performers themselves, and will be a moving and stark reminder of the continual struggle faced by people with learning disabilities over many years.
The group’s ultimate aims are to raise the profile of what people with learning disabilities can actually achieve and to establish other versions of the Music Man Project around the UK and even beyond. Two more centres are opening after the Easter holidays, which is an amazing achievement for them.
David says, “We are also looking for sponsorship or donations of any kind to help us meet all the costs. As you can imagine it is not cheap to hire the London Palladium and even with the charity rate we have paid £15,000 for the privilege!” He adds, “We also have to find funding for seating, staging, hire of a grand piano, professional musicians and West End quality arrangements of all our songs (95% of the concert features brand new original music we have written – including the charity single Music is Magic for release on iTunes in the Summer).”
The Music Man Project would love to sell as many tickets as possible for the Palladium concert on 21st June. “Our performers so deserve a capacity audience. I am determined that this particular Sunday Night at the London Palladium is going to be truly spectacular!” enthuses David. “Along with the 100 or so student performers, our client special schools, the MMP community choir and a 15 piece concert band, we are also trying to attract celebrities to make an appearance on stage between the musical numbers. The original Tiller Girls will be there and we are hopeful that Sir Bruce Forsyth may be able to make a very special appearance at the start.”
With David’s passion and enthusiasm and a fantastic team of teachers supporting him, I’m sure that the The Music Man Project is certainly on course for a successful evening of entertainment for all.
Click here to book tickets for Music is Magic at the London Palladium!
Watch the Music is Magic trailer here
The concert trailer can also be viewed here: http://youtu.be/6RA8hcNlUSc.
Check out their website www.themusicmanproject.com for lots more videos and photos of the group in action with their previous projects and if you would like to help in any way.
Facebook: The Music Man Project
Twitter: @MusicManProject