Ayanna Mose Witter-Johnson (born Apr-Jun 1985, London Borough of Islington) is an English composer, singer, songwriter and cellist. Her notable performances include opening for the

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Af ...

"Pre-Show" in 2016, and playing the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, London, on 6 March 2018.

Background and career

Ayanna Witter-Johnson was born in London, England, of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n heritage; her mother is a teacher and her father is a television, film and theatre actor

Wil Johnson Wilbert Charles Johnson (born 18 April 1965) is an English actor, who has had notable television roles in '' Waking the Dead'' and '' Babyfather'', and on stage in ''Othello''. He played Dom Andrews in ''Emmerdale'' from 2012 to 2014. Early ...

.Dionne Grant
"Ayanna Witter-Johnson: String Sensation"
''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', 8 February 2014. She began playing the piano when she was four years old and the cello at 13."Musicvein Interviews Ayanna Witter-Johnson"
14 March 2014. Witter-Johnson completed a first-class degree in Classical Composition at the

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

in the UK and won the Trinity Laban Silver Award in 2008, subsequently earning a master's of Music (MMus) degree in Composition at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

in the USA. While in America in 2010, she became the first non-American to win first place at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

's famous Amateur Night, whose previous winners included

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

. Witter-Johnson (who shared first place) was the only non-American to have won the competition. She was a

MOBO award The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Af ...

shortlist nominee ("Best Jazz Act") in 2012. Performing both classical and contemporary music – she sings while accompanying herself on the cello and has described her song-writing style as "a bit of soul, hip-hop and reggae" – Witter-Johnson has toured with artists including

Anoushka Shankar Anoushka Shankar (born 9 June 1981) is a British-American sitar player, producer, film composer and activist. She was the youngest and first woman to receive a British House of Commons Shield; she has had 7 Grammy Awards nominations and was the ...

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

and

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

. She recorded with Akala and composed for the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

."Ayanna Witter-Johnson"
at The Nest Collective. She has said: "Some of my inspirations both musical and non-musical are

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

Eckhart Tolle Eckhart Tolle ( ; ; born Ulrich Leonard Tölle, February 16, 1948) is a German-born spiritual teacher and self-help author of ''The Power of Now'' and ''A New Earth''. After being recommended by Oprah Winfrey, his first book, ''The Power of Now ...

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Baumfree; November 26, 1883) was an American abolitionist of New York Dutch heritage and a women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to f ...

, Berio,

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, Ligeti, Jill Scott,

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...

and

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

....They have encouraged me to celebrate my authenticity, to explore my unique mode of expression and to write from a place of personal truth."

Awards

*2010: Winner of Amateur Night Live at the

in Harlem *2012: Shortlist nominee for "Best Jazz Act" at the

*2011: Edward & Sally Van Lier Fund *2008: Trinity Silver Award *2008: Vivian Prindl Outreach Prize

Selected discography

*2020: Crossroads (Single) *2019: ''Road Runner'' (Album) *2018: ''Truthfully Still'' (EP) *2014: ''Black Panther'' (EP) *2011: ''Truthfully'' (EP)

References

External links

Official website

Ayanna Witter-Johnson on Scala Radio

Ayanna Witter-Johnson (BBC Music)

Royal Albert Hall: Ayanna Witter-Johnson

"'Roxanne' , Ayanna Witter Johnson , live at MOBO Awards Pre-Show , 2016"
YouTube video.
"SheCAN: Quick Chat with Ayanna Witter-Johnson"
Alt-Africa. {{DEFAULTSORT:Witter-Johnson, Ayanna Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 1980s births 21st-century English women musicians English people of Jamaican descent 21st-century Black British women singers Musicians from London Black British classical musicians English cellists 21st-century cellists