Izzy Judd, a talented violinist, and wife of McFly's Harry Judd reveals how music helped her through a family loss and that her young daughter is even learning a musical instrument.
For the festive season, the musician advocates for Future Talent - who she is an ambassador for - as it participates in the Big Give Christmas Challenge. The charity helps young musicians realise their potential by giving them great resources such as mentorship, and performance opportunities.
Born into a musical family, the mother-of-three honed her craft as a violinist at Chetham’s School of Music and The Royal Academy of Music, later captivating audiences as part of the electric string quartet Escala on Britain’s Got Talent in 2008.
The healing power of music has been a constant in Izzy’s life, particularly in the wake of her brother Rupert’s traumatic brain injury in a car accident in 1997. At the time of the accident, Rupert, then 18, had just started studying the French horn at the Guildhall School of Music. Speaking to Hello!, Izzy opened up about how music connected to her family during this difficult time.
"In the moments after his accident, before he could speak, we played music to him," she recalls. "Despite his injuries, the part of his brain that remembered music remained intact. That connection will always bond us." She adds: "For my family, doing concerts and raising money for charity was our outlet for the trauma and sadness." Izzy marvels at her brother’s enduring connection to music. "His brain is so damaged, and yet he can play pieces on the French horn from before the accident," she says. This belief in music as a universal language underpins her work with Future Talent. "Finding like-minded people who share your love of music is so healing," she says. "It’s a language you all speak together."
© Jeff SpicerTwo inspiring stories are of Fauve, a cellist who was able to take masterclasses with top teachers, and Jimmy, a guitarist who is set to perform alongside Izzy next April in The Roundhouse’s RISE: Past, Present and Future Talent show. Izzy is seeing first-hand the discipline and resilience that music fosters as her daughter Lola learns the violin. "When you find something difficult, how do you navigate through it?" she asks. "Do you throw the instrument in frustration or do you learn to breathe and work through the process? The skills you develop become invaluable in life."
"I was always fortunate to be given opportunities to make music," says Izzy, 40. "I was able to have lessons with fantastic teachers. I was able to play on beautiful instruments. There are talented children without access to what they need to fulfil their potential. What Future Talent provides is absolutely crucial."
"There are talented children without access to what they need to fulfil their potential. What Future Talent provides is absolutely crucial."
Now, as mother to three young children – Lola, eight, Kit, seven, and three-year-old Lockie she is committed to ensuring that all of her children experience the joy of music. "I wish every single primary school had singing and choirs," she says. "To sing is the most magical and mindful thing."
