The Music Man's Review of 2025

2025 was another remarkable year for The Music Man Project! We launched new regional centers across the UK, performed at some truly unforgettable venues, and engaged with accessible music providers worldwide. We introduced our new President, Dame Penny Mordaunt, and even made an appearance at Buckingham Palace!

I thought 2024 would be hard to top. After all, it's not every year you perform at the Royal Albert Hall with The Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines and Michael Ball or steal the show at the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo in Canada.

But this is The Music Man Project - where the impossible becomes possible! Once again, 2025 exceeded my wildest expectations. The most thrilling part was announcing our 2026 Broadway debut live on Channel 4’s The Last Leg.

Here are just a few of my highlights from 2025.

King’s Award for Voluntary Service. Earlier this year, we celebrated our 2024 King’s Award for Voluntary Service during a presentation ceremony in Southend. Following this, two fortunate Music Man Project Ambassadors represented the charity at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party in May. These Ambassadors have dedicated 10 years to promoting my vision of accessible and inclusive music education globally. Their hard work has been crucial to our success. The Princess behind the hat is HRH Princess of Wales!

The Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines. We continued our association with His Majesty’s Band of the Royal Marines with a fantastic cake-making workshop and performance at Royal Marines Collingwood – combining our student’s two favourite things: music and food!

In the Summer, we filmed two music videos with Royal Marines Collingwood at HMS Nelson in Portsmouth. We had an amazing time and can't wait for the release - watch this space!

Our partnership with the Royal Marines features a top 10 charity single, a UK concert tour, an appearance at the Mountbatten Festival of Music before the King, and a performance aboard an aircraft carrier in San Diego, among numerous other accomplishments together. We are extremely thankful for their encouragement and continuous support.

The Band of the RAF. We were thrilled to introduce our music to the RAF Regiment Band at RAF Northolt in June. This continued our association with the RAF following our performance with RAF Central Band in Canada last year. The band sounded fantastic and we look forward to performing a concert with them in the future.

Regional Music Man Projects. My goal to create additional regional Music Man Projects nationwide led us to Enniskillen, Plymouth, Sunderland, Wakefield, Cambridge, Southampton and East London. Currently, there are 22 independently operated regional Music Man Projects across the UK. This expansion is largely due to our fantastic longstanding partnership with the Salvation Army. Read more here:

https://www.themusicmanblog.com/post/the-music-man-project-salvation-army-partnership-music-and-faith-in-action

The London Community Gospel Choir. In January, we helped launch The Music Man Project in East London with the globally acclaimed London Community Gospel Choir. This led to a guest appearance with the choir at the renowned Hackney Empire in April. It was exhilarating to hear our music with a Gospel twist!

Town Hall, Bridgwater Concert. In October, we held the inaugural massed regional Music Man Project concert outside of London. This event showcased performers from The Music Man Project Bristol and Bath, The Music Man Project Somerset, and The Music Man Project Essex. The concert at Town Hall Bridgwater, Somerset, was a wonderful event and serves as a model for future collaborative regional concerts.

At this concert, I had the honour of awarding Music Man Project Honorary Life Memberships to Jon Webber and Jemma Andrews, acknowledging their exceptional loyalty, passionate support, and lasting dedication as charity volunteers.

A New Charity President. In June, our patron Penny Mordaunt was honoured with the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2025. Soon after, I invited Dame Penny to become the President of The Music Man Project charity, a role previously held by the late Sir David Amess. This was a significant moment for us. Sir David was our first and only president, and the position had been vacant for four years following his murder. Dame Penny, a friend of Sir David, accepted the role with the Amess family's blessing. She has been an outstanding supporter of our cause, especially after the tragic events of 2021. I express my gratitude to Dame Penny for her personal support and her unwavering belief in the mission of The Music Man Project.

TEAM LEWIS. Dame Penny introduced me to Chris Lewis of TEAM LEWIS shortly after Sir David's passing, and this incredible organisation has been a supporter of The Music Man Project ever since. In 2025, our activities included a panel discussion on accessibility and performance at Battersea Power Station for Purple Tuesday, a performance to welcome new staff at TEAM LEWIS' London headquarters, and a Christmas show back at the Power Station.

In July, we once more joined thousands at the annual TEAM LEWIS Garden Party in Westminster, performing two of our songs with the Central Band of the Royal Air Force. It was wonderful to reunite with the band for the first time since our performance with them in Canada in 2024.

My wife and I had the honour of attending the London book launch for Chris and Penny's new book, "Pomp and Circumstance," which is also a Sunday Times Best Seller!

Scooppiati Diversamente Band. Our international outreach was dominated by a ground-breaking collaboration with Rome-based rock band, Scooppiati. We jointly released my song “Best Life” in May.

In December, The Music Man Project Global Ambassadors teamed up with Scooppiati for an outstanding concert at Teatro India in Rome. It was an amazing experience to hear six of my songs played by a rock band! From exploring the Vatican, Colosseum, and Sistine Chapel to filming a music video in the centre of London, my friendship with Peppe and his incredible band will stay with me forever. Read more here: https://www.themusicmanblog.com/post/musical-gladiators-an-unforgettable-night-in-rome

The International Alliance of Accessible Music. The partnership between The Music Man Project and 'AllegroModerato' in Milan in 2024 motivated us to unite similar accessible music providers worldwide. This led to the creation of the International Alliance of Accessible Music (IAAM), the first ever global network of inclusive music organisations. IAAM officially launched in September and now includes 12 members across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Read more here:

https://www.themusicmanblog.com/post/introducing-the-international-alliance-of-accessible-music

King's College London. I felt truly honoured to be invited to deliver the Alumni address at the King's College London Graduation Ceremony held at the Royal Festival Hall. It was an opportunity for me to express my gratitude for all that this remarkable university has provided me and to inspire new graduates to carve out their own paths, just as I have with The Music Man Project. Read more here: https://www.themusicmanblog.com/post/the-mazurka-that-changed-my-life-reflections-of-a-proud-king-s-alum

The Music Man Project Fleet! After years of borrowing a minibus and carefully squeezing instruments into cars, we have finally acquired our own vehicles! Our charity now owns a 17-seater, ULEZ-compliant minibus and a van for transporting our instruments and equipment. This will significantly enhance our ability to travel nationwide for performances, workshops, and media appearances.

Awards. We were excited to earn our first film award, courtesy of the incredible TEAM LEWIS. Their documentary about our performance at the Royal Nova Scotia Military Tattoo in Canada was honoured with the Best Charity Film award at the Big Syn International Film Festival. Additionally, we kicked off the gala award ceremony with a performance at the Curzon Cinema in Soho. Clips from the award-winning film were also displayed on the big screen at London's Piccadilly Circus!

We were also delighted to collaborate with Shreya Goyal of the University of Arts, London. Her art installation about The Music Man Project won the university’s Social Justice Commendation Award.

I was honoured to attend ITV’s Pride of Britain Awards in October, courtesy of GoFundMe. It was a beautiful and inspiring occasion. I was most excited to be recognised by a young man with Downs Syndrome and his mum who both follow The Music Man Project! Other notable moments include being followed into the toilet by Craig Revel Horwood!

Media Appearances. I am immensely thankful to all the media organisations in the UK and globally for covering our adventures once again this year. Our partnership with Scooppiati garnered press attention in Rome, and the launch of the International Alliance received coverage around the world.

Closer to home, we had the honour of appearing once more on ITV's Good Morning Britain to support Norman and Joyce Giller’s book “Life Begins at 90,” with all proceeds benefiting The Music Man Project.

The year concluded spectacularly with our live broadcast on Channel 4’s The Last Leg, where we announced our most ambitious adventure yet: "Music is Magic on Broadway", in memory of Sir David Amess. If you thought 2025 was impressive, just wait for 2026!

Thank you to everyone who made 2025 so special and happy New Year!

David Stanley BEM

Photos by Jon Webber.