Ayanna Witter-Johnson

Singer-songwriter and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson successfully navigates the opposing worlds of classical and contemporary music. A graduate of the Laban School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, she has toured with Anoushka Shankar and Courtney Pine, recorded with Akala and composed for the London Symphony Orchestra.
Her musical career has seen her winning the acclaimed amateur night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, gaining a MOBO Award nomination and getting airplay on BBC Radio 1 and BBC 1Xtra. Able to straddle both worlds effortlessly because of her musical prowess, non-compromising lyrics and ability to deftly reinterpret songs on the cello, Ayanna is the definition of an eclectic soul.
Ayanna will be performing as part of our Women and the Hall festival, and will be taking inspiration from Ella Fitzgerald, who performed at the Royal Albert Hall on multiple occasions.