As a broadcaster who has presented the BBC Proms, had a sparkling radio career and taken part in Strictly Come Dancing Dancing Dancing, Katie Derham has seen music play a central role in her professional life. But she also enjoys a good song and dance with her family: husband John Vincent and their daughters Natasha, 23, and 18-year-old Eleanor.
“We’re like the von Trapps,” says Katie in our exclusive interview. “We watched a lot of Glee at a formative age – there’s a lot of jazz hands in the house. “Both my girls are really into the arts. My eldest has got a lovely voice; I hope to see her in a musical one day,” adds the proud mum, whose younger daughter is going to study music at university.
READ: Katie Derham, Clive Myrie and Josie d’Arby celebrate the return of the BBC Proms
Katie is joining other stars to support Arts for Impact, the inaugural arts-focused campaign from Big Give, the platform that brings together donors and charities, doubling donations made.
Harnessing the power of music, theatre, dance, art and literature, the week-long initiative – from 19 to 26 March – aims to raise £2.5m for 239 UK charities. James Reed, chair of trustees for Big Give, says: “Arts charities play a central and crucial role in the lives of the people they support, and their time and services are being called upon now more than ever. They have endured many cuts and disappointments, so securing funding for the charities from our match funders and the public is especially important. I am pleased that today is the start of our financial fight back, and I hope the campaign is widely and generously supported.”
Katie, 53, is flying the flag for Music in Hospitals & Care, for which she has been an ambassador for over a decade. “They have an amazing group of musicians who go into hospitals and care homes to bring a little bit of comfort and joy,” she says. “There’s increasing clinical evidence for how recovery time can be improved by having music around.”
She lost her mother to early onset Alzheimer’s in 2003 but experienced first-hand the restorative power of melody. “She always loved music, and in her final years, when she didn’t really know what was going on around her, she was still singing and it would light her up,” says Katie. “My eldest was only three when my mum died, but she would sing nursery rhymes with her. It taught me a lot about how important music was to people like Mum in those difficult circumstances.”
Music has also central to the life of cellist and conductor Julian Lloyd Webber, younger brother of theatre impresario Andrew, which is why he is lending his voice to Nucleo, a charity that offers young people from diverse backgrounds a free and accessible music education. What started with an orchestra of just four children in 2013 has grown to more than 450 musicians.
“I’ve seen it in action and it’s a wonderful thing to watch; these children coming together doing something that’s bigger than themselves,” explains Julian. “Music can bring so much to people. I certainly wouldn’t have met my wife without it,” adds the star, whose path crossed with fellow cellist Jiaxin on a tour of New Zealand in 2000.
Philanthropy has always been part of Julian’s life – and it seems his 12-year-old daughter Jasmine has inherited her dad’s caring nature. “She is a very kind-natured person,” he says. “If another child has a problem, she’s the first one to put her arm around them.”
Visit biggive.org to choose a charity to support.