Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ken Trush. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Ken, appreciate you joining us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.
Daniel’s Music Foundation was founded on the premise that music is a right rather than a privilege. Music is the one universal language that exists in the world and its transformative impact can be felt near and far. However, music is also uniquely impactful for people with disabilities, which is the community we have served since 2006.
Our organization’s focus on music and performance has helped us cultivate a positive and inclusive community that prioritizes serving people with disabilities— we do this out of recognition for how underserved our community is in arts education, as well as how transformative and life-affirming music programming can be for individuals with disabilities.
Beyond its individualized benefits, music can also be a powerful tool for connecting people, which makes it an especially vital resource for people with disabilities. Studies show that individuals with disabilities experience social isolation and loneliness at disproportionate levels. Community-building is an important part of what we do and our music classes started as a way for us to not only bring together people with a shared passion for music, but a way to cultivate a sense of community among a historically isolated population.
Eighteen years ago, we started with one keyboard class serving five individuals with disabilities in a small studio on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. This keyboard class was the first iteration of our core music program— free group classes benefiting children and adults with developmental and physical disabilities.
Since that first keyboard class, we have provided over 14,500 free classes that have served countless New Yorkers. Our programs have also expanded significantly since our founding and we now offer online classes, performance events, private lessons, field trips, and on-demand videos that benefit thousands of individuals across the US and Canada.
Building community through music is at the heart of what we do, and with this in mind, we hosted the Hello Inclusion Music Festival at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts this past July to commemorate Disability Pride Month. Bethel Woods was the site of Woodstock 1969, and for us, Hello Inclusion is following its tradition of joyous musical expression and community-building.
Beyond our music programs, we are working to inspire a more equitable and accessible world for people with disabilities through our Disability Awareness Program. With Disability Awareness, we are scaling up our impact on a global level through meaningful partnerships and corporate sponsorships.
Each year, we host The Danny Awards, which is a celebration of musicians with disabilities from around the world. The Dannys is our way of highlighting the musical talent in our community and giving members of an underrepresented facet of the music industry an opportunity to perform in front of a large audience at an iconic venue.
In addition, we started the boutique record label, Just Call Me By My Name®, to promote positive and uplifting music performed by artists with disabilities. Through this label, we are carving a space for musicians with disabilities within an often exclusionary industry.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Before DMF, I had a successful business career for over four decades as a CFO, EVP of Corporate Development, a CPA, and a partner at a M&A firm. My professional journey prepared me for my current role as the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Daniel’s Music and informed many of the decisions that have made DMF sustainable and forward-moving.
The inspiration behind Daniel’s Music is the personal story of my son, Daniel Trush. We had a very typical family life until an undetected brain aneurysm burst inside Daniel’s head at the age of 12 while he played basketball at his school gym. He was in a coma for 30 days, but that doesn’t tell the full story. We were told to say goodbye on numerous occasions and that if he did survive he would not have a meaningful life.
After a year in the hospital and rehab, Daniel came home. He was different and our family was different, as he faced numerous challenges both cognitively and physically. We were also worried about our younger son, Michael, as we were spending so much time with Daniel. But Michael was amazing throughout and now has his doctorate and is a practicing neuropsychologist.
But this story is not a pity or feel-bad story. Our family came together and formed Daniel’s Music Foundation in 2006 because we understood the power of music and had learned firsthand about the challenges facing our community.
I left the business world two years ago and shifted my full focus to Daniel’s Music, which has truly been one of the most fulfilling things I have done. We currently have a staff of 25 people, working within and outside of New York, and we offer a comprehensive schedule of music services. I also work alongside Daniel, who is our Co-Founder and President, as well as a talented singer/songwriter, assistant music instructor, and ambassador for our mission.
What sets Daniel’s Music apart from other music programs is our management team and staff. They are dedicated, hard-working, smart, and looking to make a difference. We are also uniquely positioned to serve the disability community as we include people with disabilities in our leadership and always work to make our programs and performances fully accessible and enjoyable for our diverse population.
We launched our Disability Awareness Program in 2016 to shift the DEI conversation to include people with disabilities and accessibility. We host educational presentations at schools, corporations, and organizations exploring the history of the disability rights movement, digital accessibility, assistive technology, and other disability-related topics. As previously mentioned, our record label, annual awards show (The Danny Awards), and music festival (Hello Inclusion) work together to showcase and elevate the musical talent in our community.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
During the summer of 2019, I began ideating ways for our programs to positively impact more of the over 1.2 billion people living with a disability around the world. One thought came to mind… The Danny Awards— an annual award show to celebrate the underrepresented diversity in our music community.
We held the 1st Annual Danny Awards on March 8, 2020, at Symphony Space in New York City. The show was a landmark success for us and more importantly, it highlighted how universal community and music are. Three days later, we made the decision to temporarily close our Upper Manhattan center as the COVID-19 crisis began to accelerate in New York City. The following week, we began offering online music lessons to a handful of local participants.
In the weeks that followed, our online music lessons multiplied and we began providing small group classes, field trips, free dance parties, Open-Mic events, and other virtual services to a growing online audience.
Since launching our Online Community four years ago, we have reached over 25,000 online attendees and provided over 1,100 online music programs, and our on-demand videos have garnered over 270,000 views. Participation in our online programs now spans 45 cities in the US and Canada. However, what is most important to us is that we have cultivated an inclusive and diverse online community that has become a beacon of joy for our members.
Initially, our Online Community was a necessary pivot amid an unprecedented crisis that upended our local programming. However, since then, it has become a vital component of our program and a testament to the connective power of music.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Since Daniel’s Music’s inception, we have provided meaningful instructional services and performance events that have helped us build a positive and inclusive member community. For over 18 years, we have been a pioneer in making music education more accessible for people with disabilities, and with the launch of our record label last year, we are working to shape the professional landscape for musicians with disabilities.
Accessibility is always top of mind for us, and both our in-person and online programs are fully accessible and accommodate the unique needs of our widespread community. Our 8,700-square-foot music center, which is located in Upper Manhattan, was custom-built for unrestrictive, barrier-free movement and is fully accessible. At our events, such as The Danny Awards and Hello Inclusion, we incorporate various accessible accommodations such as live-streaming, ASL interpreters, live captioning, and braille programs.
In our classes, we also incorporate accessible instruments, which were developed by one of our music instructors— these instruments have allowed more of our students, who have varying care needs and learning styles, to meaningfully participate in their classes.
In our Disability Awareness presentations, we explore digital accessibility and how businesses can utilize assistive technology and other practices to make their workplace and services more accessible for people with disabilities. For us, the goal is to move beyond ADA (The Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance and help organizations foster genuinely inclusive workplaces.
Overall, our commitment to inclusion and accessibility has set us apart from other organizations.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.danielsmusic.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmfmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielsmusicfoundation/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kentrush/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanielsMusicFdn
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DanielsMusicFoundation
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/daniels-music-foundation-new-york-2
Image Credits
All photos credit: Joe Papeo