AYANNA WITTER-JOHNSON
London, 23
Identified by Serious
Ayanna is a composer, jazz vocalist, cellist and pianist whose style as an artist has developed from a diverse background of mixed cultures. Ayanna has recently finished her degree in Composition at Trinity College of Music, London. She composes in all genres from contemporary, classical and jazz to electro-acoustic. This year, Ayanna is participating in the London Symphony Orchestra’s Discovery Panufnik Young Composers Scheme, designed to facilitate the development of orchestral writing by talented young composers. She is also an Emerging Artist in Residence (EAR) at the Southbank Centre and a member of Courtney Pine’s Afropeans. In 2007, Ayanna managed her first community workshop project sojourner Truth’s Story in connection with Kori Arts, which led to a performance in the National Portrait Gallery in 2007. She assisted rising UK composing star Jason Yarde on two landmark orchestral projects, one of which was Urban Classic, featuring legendary South African trumpeter and vocalist Hugh Masekela with the London Symphony Orchestra. Ayanna recently performed in a series of venues across East London as part of the Vortex East tour with Nick Mulvey and Olivia Chaney.
www.myspace.com/ayannawitterjohnson
