Ayanna Witter-Johnson: POWER UP Music Creator
Bio: Ayanna Witter-Johnson is a singer, songwriter, cellist and composer working across classical, jazz, reggae, soul and R&B. Her practice combines composition, songwriting and live performance, building a distinctive cross-genre career spanning concert hall and contemporary music spaces. As a recording artist, she has released four EPs and her debut album, Road Runner, on her independent label, Hill & Gully Records. Her music has received support across BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, 2, 3, 4, 6 Music, Jazz FM and Magic Classical, alongside television appearances including the BBC Proms and Later… with Jools Holland. Nominated for a MOBO Awards, she became the only non-American to win Amateur Night at Harlem’s Apollo Theater — a milestone that funded her first EP and marked the beginning of her independent journey. Ayanna has performed internationally and collaborated with artists including Akala, Andrea Bocelli, Peter Gabriel, Nitin Sawhney and Anoushka Shankar, co-writing and featuring on Anoushka’s Grammy-nominated Love Letters EP. Recent recognition includes nominations for Best Live Performer at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards and the AIM Independent Music Awards, alongside receiving the O2 Silver Clef Awards Classical Award (2023).
As a composer she has been commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chineke! Orchestra among others and scored for theatre (Young Vic, The Bush), TV (‘Possession’ – Sky Arts) & film (Hostile). She hosts a weekly radio show on Magic Classical, and with her forthcoming sophomore album New Roots and an expanding composition portfolio, she is entering an important new phase of her artistic development.
Concise Description of activity: Development of infrastructure for the release of my second album ‘New Roots’ including marketing, visual content, rehearsals and UK/EU touring to expand audiences and sustainability.