Glamour music quartet may not have won but they hit the right chord

GLAMOROUS classical quartet Escala - formerly known as Scala - lost out in the final of TV's Britain's Got Talent but their future is still looking bright.

Although they did not make the top three in Saturday's final, the string quartet, which includes 24-year old violinist Izzy Johnston from Harpenden, made it all the way to the finish and even won the semi-final outright on Friday night.

The girls had to change their name at the eleventh hour when it was discovered that a choir bearing the same name already existed.

The classically-trained musicians, who also include Chantal Leverton on viola, Tasya Hodges on cello and Victoria Lyon on violin, played their explosive electric rendition of Palladio by Karl Jenkins.

But they were pipped to the post by 13-year old break-dancer George Sampson who went home with £100,000 and the promise of an appearance in front of the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance later on this year.

However it looks as though Escala's future career is assured and their management team are fielding bookings and inquiries for them to appear.

Alexander Lyon, who manages the band said: "The girls are all very excited about the future but we're not sure what's happening just yet."

Some reports have suggested that Escala are being lined up for a £1-million record deal at Sony BMG and that judge Simon Cowell is eager to sign the quartet to his record company and believes the group have what it takes to crack the US market.

Izzy, who lives in How Field, and Chantal were previously in a pop group called Wild and they both teach at the Musicale in Sun Lane, Harpenden, which is run by Izzy's parents Gill and David.

The quartet decided to incorporate their talent for playing classical music and their love of contemporary styles to form Escala three years ago after becoming friends on tour with boy band McFly's orchestra.