Joely Hudson wins Liz Lawrence Award
Westbury-based music student, Joely Hudson, has become the lucky winner of our prestigious Liz Lawrence Award, which recognises the best young musical talent in Wiltshire. Joely, 19, auditioned for the award in April with an impressive range of instrumental talent using her incredible voice, saxophone and piano skills. The judges, all on the board of WRM and excellent musicians themselves, agreed that it was Joely’s range of skills, confidence and pure talent that scooped her the enviable £1,000 prize.
“I remember coming out of the audition very comfortable as it was one of the first times I’d played live as a solo musician since Covid so it was really nice to play to real people”, Joely explained, “and when the email came through to say I’d won I couldn’t actually believe it!”. Joely is currently studying a BA (Hons) in Performance - Actor-Musicianship at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London and says she’s going to spend the money on a new saxophone mouthpiece to she can explore different sounds.
The cheque was presented to her by Warminster Mayor Cllr Chris Robbins who is a long standing friend of Joely’s family. “She’s an amazing talent and I’m so proud of her and what she’s achieved and what she’s going to achieve, this award is marvellous and let’s hope it helps her along the way”.
As part of her win, Joely will also get to curate her own winner’s concert, hosted by Wiltshire Rural Music. Phil Springate, who was at her audition knows that her concert will be particularly special. “We have a lot of really good musicians come forward (for the award) but her enthusiasm and excitement about music - that’s what really stood out”. Joely’s concert will be entitled Sounds of the Summer and will be held at St John’s Church, Warminster on Saturday 10th September 2022. Tickets are available here
Cllr Chris Robbins, Joely Hudson & Phil Springate of WRM.
We support young people with bursaries to help them afford music lessons and professional instrument hire and Joely has been part of this scheme for most her of her education. Previous winners have gone on to musical careers taking them to perform around the world, as well as inspiring the next generation of musicians across Wiltshire and bringing joy into the lives of isolated communities, with projects like “Keep Music in Mind”, which Wiltshire Rural Music currently takes into Wiltshire care homes.
If you are under 18 and applying for University or college to study music in 2022/2023, head to the Bursaries page to find out how to apply for next year’s award.