Ayanna Witter-Johnson is a singer/songwriter, cellist, pianist and composer from London (UK). After graduating with a first-class degree from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (BMus) and the Manhattan School of Music (MMus), Ayanna participated in the London Symphony Orchestra’s Panufnik Young Composers Scheme. Soon after, as Emerging Artist in Residence at London’s Southbank Centre, Ayanna performed as a featured artist with Courtney Pine’s Afropeans: Jazz Warriors. Later, whilst studying in the USA at New York’s Manhattan School of Music, she became the only non-American to win ‘Amateur Night Live at the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NYC.
A MOBO Award Nominee and winner of the 2023 Nordoff & Robbins O2 Silver Clef Classical Award, she has a phenomenal mastery for seamlessly crossing the boundaries of classical, jazz, reggae, soul and R&B, to imprint her unique musical signature with her virtuosic tap, strum and bow with her cello into her sound and vibe.
An acclaimed and celebrated performer, Ayanna has collaborated with many stellar artists, including Nitin Sawhney, Andrea Bocelli, Jools Holland, Peter Gabriel and Sitarist Anoushka Shankar with whom she co-wrote and featured on her single ‘Those Words’ from the Grammy-nominated Love Letters EP. She has also toured extensively across the UK, Europe and the US.
As a composer, Ayanna has been commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, Güerzenich Orchester, Ligeti Quartet, Kronos Quartet and The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company to name but a few. She was also selected as an arranger/orchestrator for the London Symphony Orchestra (Hugh Masekela, Belief) and the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Urban Classic).
Ayanna has released three EPs (‘Truthfully’, ‘Black Panther’ & ‘Ella, Reuben & Ay’) and put out her debut album ‘Road Runner’ in 2019, with its two subsequent singles’ Nothing Less’ and ‘Crossroads’, via her own independent record label (Hill and Gully Records). Ayanna has worked with producers Marc Mac (4Hero), James Yarde (Terri Walker, Jamelia, Eric Benet) and recorded with featured artists, including pianist Robert Mitchell and rapper Akala. She has just released a new EP - Colour War and is currently recording her sophomore album due for release in October 2024.
