The Music Man Project in New York: Part 3 – Friends Across the Atlantic
PART 3 – Friends Across the Atlantic
Despite travelling more than 3,000 miles from home, we never felt alone in New York. Charities, universities, businesses, educators and individuals had embraced our Broadway dream, offering their time, expertise, facilities and friendship.
Some were old friends whose relationships with The Music Man Project stretched back many years. Others were new connections, brought together by a shared belief that music should be accessible to everyone. They all helped make our New York adventure something far greater than a single Broadway performance.
From Churchill Fellow to Broadway
In 2019, I travelled to New York City as a Churchill Fellow, visiting organisations supporting people with learning disabilities and exploring how music could create opportunities, build confidence and transform lives. It was a journey that would have a profound influence on the future of The Music Man Project.
I met passionate, dedicated people who shared my belief that disability should never be a barrier to musical achievement. We exchanged ideas, learned from one another and began friendships that would continue long after I returned to England.
Seven years later, some of those very organisations had become members of the International Alliance of Accessible Music (IAAM), the international network we established to bring together organisations committed to accessible music-making. Now, those same American friends were coming to watch our Global Ambassadors perform on Broadway.
Back in 2019, I made a promise to return with my students. Seven years later, I kept that promise and was back in New York with 16 remarkable musicians, ready to demonstrate what 27 years of dedication, determination and belief had made possible.
An Afternoon of Music and Friendship with AHRC NYC's Our Broadway Group
One of the most memorable experiences of our New York visit took place away from the bright lights of Broadway. Our fellow International Alliance member, AHRC NYC, through its ‘Our Broadway’ group, hosted a very special afternoon for our Global Ambassadors. We met our American counterparts, shared experiences, enjoyed a ‘Taste of New York’ lunch and, of course, made wonderful music together.
We sang to them. They sang to us. Before long, the room was filled with music, laughter and the unmistakable joy of people connecting across borders. It was one of those occasions when the universal language of music said more than a thousand of my words ever could – and it brought some of us to tears.
Two groups of people, separated by an ocean but united by music.
It was the perfect illustration of everything the International Alliance of Accessible Music represents. What had begun as a Churchill Fellowship in 2019 had developed into friendships and partnerships spanning the Atlantic.
We were also thrilled to see our friends at the Kean University/Community Access Unlimited from New Jersey, another valued member of the International Alliance of Accessible Music.
Sharing Our Music with New York's Teachers at The Town Hall
Another meaningful engagement was delivering a special educational workshop at The Town Hall. Our musicians are living proof of what could be achieved through accessible music education, patience, encouragement, high expectations and, above all, belief in every individual's potential. Just two days later, those same musicians would be performing on Broadway.
The Town Hall team were fantastic. As well as hosting the workshop, they promoted our Fill the Hall for All campaign, reached out to local special schools and gave us a guided tour of their historic theatre. We were thrilled to learn about all the legendary artists who had performed before us at the iconic venue. This list is incredible! Everyone from Bob Dylan and Billie Holiday to Rachmaninoff and Nina Simone.
Prestigious performances are important. They challenge perceptions, raise expectations and demonstrate what people with learning disabilities can achieve. Sharing our knowledge and experience with educators has the potential to create opportunities for countless other musicians long after the applause has faded.
Filling the Hall for All
As explained in Part 1, selling tickets for a 1,500-seat theatre in a city where The Music Man Project was largely unknown had proved more difficult than I had imagined.
But thanks to the generosity of our supporters and the wonderful idea that became our Fill the Hall for All campaign, we were able to offer complimentary tickets to members of New York's disability community and local supporters.
What made the campaign so special was the way organisations across the city embraced it.
Our American partners helped us reach schools, charities, families, carers and people with disabilities who might otherwise never have heard of The Music Man Project. Organisations such as AHRC NYC, YAI and Community Access Unlimited helped us connect with the very communities we most wanted to welcome. Our friends at The Town Hall supported our efforts to bring new audiences into their historic theatre.
We weren't simply trying to sell tickets. We were trying to make Broadway accessible to everyone. And there were some particularly special organisations whose generosity deserves recognition.
Forever King's – A Very Personal Connection With My Beloved University
As a proud King's College London Notable Alumnus and recipient of the university's Distinguished Alumni Award for Arts and Culture, I was delighted by the enthusiasm and kindness shown to us by the university's New York alumni community.
King's played a pivotal role in my life and career, so it was particularly meaningful to discover that fellow alumni living thousands of miles from home were so keen to support The Music Man Project.
They embraced our Fill the Hall for All campaign, helping us reach audience members across New York. They even treated us to pizzas at our end-of-tour party! It was a gesture that meant the world to me - a lovely reminder that the friendships and connections created through education can last a lifetime and reach far beyond the places where they began.
BritishAmerican Business – Building Bridges
Another organisation that offered valuable support was BritishAmerican Business. As The Music Man Project began developing new connections in America, BritishAmerican Business invited us to join their network so we could connect with people and organisations who shared our enthusiasm for inclusion, community and international collaboration.
Their support for our Fill the Hall for All campaign was particularly appreciated, helping us spread the word about our Broadway debut and the opportunity for members of New York's disability community to attend.
It was another reminder that the success of The Music Man Project has always depended on people who recognise the value of what we are trying to achieve and are willing to open doors for us.
GoFundMe – From Fundraising to Broadway
Of course, none of this would have been possible without the generosity of the hundreds of people who supported our Broadway fundraising campaign. For 18 months, we had worked towards our £150,000 target, appealing to friends, families, businesses, charities and complete strangers who believed in our dream.
Throughout that journey, GoFundMe had been a wonderful supporter of The Music Man Project. Their platform helped us turn an ambitious idea into a fundraising campaign capable of taking more than 60 people across the Atlantic. What touched me most was that their involvement didn't end when we reached our target. Representatives from GoFundMe joined us at The Town Hall for our historic debut, and they even brought a camera crew to capture the occasion for their social media channels.
After all those months of fundraising, it was wonderful to know that the people who had helped us along the way were there to witness what their support had made possible.
TEAM LEWIS Foundation – The Power of Believing
And then, of course, there was TEAM LEWIS Foundation.
From their remarkable financial generosity to the inspired idea behind 'Fill the Hall for All', which helped transform disappointing ticket sales into an audience approaching 1,000 people, TEAM LEWIS Foundation played a pivotal role in the success of our New York adventure.
Their support helped us achieve another milestone in The Music Man Project's journey towards becoming a global force for accessible arts and culture. They followed us across New York, capturing the whole experience for a documentary film.
Their contribution was also deeply personal. Throughout the trip, I was enormously reassured by the advice and guidance of the Foundation's CEO, Samuel Dean. I always felt calmer, more confident and more motivated knowing that he was there to support me.
Sitting in my hotel room late at night before the big day, placing hundreds of tickets into hundreds of envelopes for box office collection, I reflected on everything that had happened during those first few days in New York and began to appreciate just how much our Broadway adventure had already achieved.
We had reunited with old friends from my Churchill Fellowship.
We had strengthened international partnerships through the International Alliance of Accessible Music.
Our Global Ambassadors had shared an unforgettable afternoon of music with their American counterparts at AHRC NYC.
We had demonstrated our approach to accessible music education to New York teachers at The Town Hall.
And through the generosity of organisations including King's College London New York Alumni, BritishAmerican Business, GoFundMe, TEAM LEWIS Foundation and our American disability partners, we had helped open the doors of Broadway to people who might otherwise never have had the opportunity to attend.
I had made friends for life in New York where I would always be welcome. All of this before our historic concert had even begun!
It reminded me that The Music Man Project has never been simply about putting on performances.
It's about creating opportunities.
Building friendships.
Challenging expectations.
And, as our song goes, the chance to ‘Join Together’.
The show was written and produced, £150,000 had been fundraised, the rehearsals were complete, the programmes delivered, the instruments hired and the theatre was waiting.
Somewhere in the heart of Manhattan, 16 Music Man Project Global Ambassadors were peacefully sleeping before the performance of their lives…
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