In 1997, Rupert Johnston suffered a horrific car accident that resulted in him being in a coma for two months. The doctors advised his family to switch off his life support machine as he was showing no signs of brain activity. However, his father brought along his son’s beloved French horn to his bedside. Rupert began moving his fingers along the valves in time to a Mozart recording, which provided the first glimmer of hope that there was something there.
Rupert was studying at the Guildhall School of Music at the time of the accident, having left his home to become a chorister at King’s College, Cambridge, when he was just eight years old. Rupert’s love for music was deeply ingrained in him since his parents ran a music school in Hertfordshire. He was an incredibly talented musician who had his sights set on becoming a professional horn musician, and his younger sister, violinist Izzy Judd, had no doubts that he would have achieved his dream if the accident hadn’t occurred.
Although Rupert gradually began to physically recover and left the hospital, his family realized that he would always need 24-hour care. The now 45-year-old musician has issues with his memory and spatial awareness and requires assistance with everyday tasks such as washing and laundry. However, despite all this, he still manages to play his French horn to an exceptional standard, which Izzy describes as a “miracle.”
Rupert has spent the last 21 years living in a home in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, run by The Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust – a charity that offers care for people with acquired brain injuries. He regularly performs with the Aylesbury concert band and is still immensely talented, according to Izzy. When Izzy recently decided to return to the studio to record a new album that contains some of the lullabies she plays, she invited Rupert to sing alongside her. They recorded a new version of Somewhere In My Memory.
Rupert is currently undergoing brain scans after his memory began to deteriorate, and there is a connection between brain injuries and early-onset dementia. Izzy has realized that she may not have much time left to collaborate with her brother, and music has always been a language that her family has used when words were too difficult to speak. She wanted to reconnect with Rupert again and give him the space to share his talent. This has been very healing for her
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