The instrument, restored after centuries of silence, was performed by acclaimed traditional flautist Claire Mann alongside vocalist Robyn Stapleton and harpist Rebecca Hill. The trio opened their New York programme with a performance in Central Park, before taking the music, and the campaign, to audiences across the city.

The campaign to save the site where Burns wrote around a third of his life’s work, including Auld Lang Syne and Tam o Shanter, aims to raise up to £12 million to save and restore Ellisland, alongside developing sustainable income through cultural programming and guest accommodation.

The historic farmstead and its collections are under threat from years of weathering and structural decay. The charity that cares for the site is seeking support to secure its future as an international cultural destination.

On Thursday evening, the musicians performed at the American Scottish Foundation’s Supper Club, where guests heard about the urgent drive to save Ellisland and watched a screening of the Trust’s campaign film.

On Friday, the musicians are performing at VisitScotland’s diaspora breakfast, where project director Joan McAlpine will speak of plans to restore Ellisland and create a cultural destination of international significance in Dumfriesshire.

The week culminates on Saturday when the Ellisland team will march in the Tartan Day Parade, carrying a banner calling on New Yorkers to help Save the Home of Auld Lang Syne. This year’s parade is led by Grand Marshal Sam Heughan, the Outlander star who was pictured with the Ellisland musicians at a South of Scotland Enterprise event at the Scottish Parliament in January.

Ms McAlpine said: “We have been heartened by the response to our campaign so far. So many people in the USA have Scottish roots, and this trip has been a fantastic opportunity to connect with people who very genuinely want to give something back to their ancestral homeland.

“Tomorrow’s parade will give us an opportunity to take the story of Ellisland to the streets of New York, and we are looking forward to carrying the Save the Home of Auld Lang Syne banner through the streets of the city that turned Burns’s song into a global anthem to friendship.

“We hope New Yorkers lining the route will feel moved to help us save the place where the song was born.”

The visit was supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.