biog

Isobel Cooper AKA Izzy has always been used to bucking the trend. The 25-year-old vocalist who has recently been signed to the Virgin Venture label began her love affair with music at the tender age of four.
It was then that she picked up her first musical instrument, the recorder and five years later she had worked through the entire recorder family and also began learning the piano, clarinet and flute. But it was her school choirmaster who spotted her vocal potential at the age of nine, which was to prove a turning point in her musical career. Under his nurturing hand, Izzy went on to gain a place at a specialist Arts Educational School, where she studied music, drama and dance but it was as a singer that she began to emerge. By her mid teens, Izzy had progressed to principal soloist in the school choir, which afforded her the chance to perform at The Royal Albert Hall and The Festival Hall in London, as well as Italy's prestigious St Francis Basilica in Assisi and the spectacular Florence Cathedral.
Less glamorous but equally nerve wracking performances came later whilst busking in London's Covent Garden. In singing she had found her forte and it was her unique voice and style that led her to win a place at the acclaimed Guildhall School of Music and Drama, having already secured the Junior Guildhall Singing Prize in 1993 at the age of eighteen.
A sudden bout of illness forced her to take time out of college and encouraged by her stepfather, a music publisher, she began to write her own compositions. It also led her to re-evaluate her classical training and to realise that she could use her voice to approach the classics in a fresh and innovative way.
"More than anything, I didn't want to be restricted in which songs I could sing or how I had to sing them" she recalls. " I was lucky enough to have had the best training a singer could possibly have at the Guildhall and I realised that I was able to apply my voice to all kinds of music - I was much less confined than a lot of singers, which is an incredible freedom." Whilst still a student, Izzy was spotted and signed by Decca Records and found herself recording with the London Symphony Orchestra and leading producer Craig Leon, who had a long track record of working with both classical and pop artists.
They recorded at the world-famous studios, Abbey Road - a world away from her day job working at The Virgin Megastore (home to many other budding musicians in their early careers). The resulting album ' Libera Me' was a carefully crafted mixture of classical compositions and co-written original pieces and set the tone for her distinct style of rich tones and finely woven harmonies. It reached the coveted No 1 spot in the classical charts within weeks of release and launched Izzy into the spotlight. Nominated as Best Female Artist in the inaugural Classical BRIT Awards and chosen to present Bryn Terfel with the Best Male Artist Award capped what had been a remarkable first year in her professional career.
Signed to Virgin's Venture label earlier this year, she immediately teamed up once again with Craig Leon. Once again they installed themselves in the now familiar surroundings of Abbey Road and began working on her second album. Both producer and artist took time to pour over hundreds of different songs and arrangements before finalising the selection, which was to become 'Ascolta'.

"Recording the second album was a fantastic experience. Not only did I have the support of a vibrant, less traditional record company in Virgin Venture, but I also had the confidence in working with Craig to record what I wanted to, regardless of whether it was conventional or not. It is invigorating to take a song or aria and be able to interpret it in completely your own way."