Faber Alt., the home of Faber Music’s alternative, crossover writers and artists, has signed singer-songwriter, virtuosic cellist and composer Ayanna Witter-Johnson to a Worldwide publishing deal.

Ayanna seamlessly crosses the boundaries of classical, jazz, reggae, soul and R&B music, to imprint her unique musical signature and cultural identity.

As a composer, she has been commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Opera House, Güerzenich Orchester, Ligeti Quartet, Kronos Quartet, The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company and as an arranger/orchestrator for the London Symphony Orchestra (Hugh Masekela, Belief!) and the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Urban Classic). An acclaimed and celebrated performer with work that celebrates and pays homage to her heritage, culture and identity, Ayanna has collaborated with many acclaimed artists and composers, including Anoushka Shankar, Nitin Sawhney, Andrea Bocelli and Jools Holland. She has also toured extensively across the UK, Europe and the US.

2021 has been a stellar year for Ayanna who made a major return to live performance with two headlining shows at The Jazz Café and King’s Place. She is currently working on her sophomore album and has recently appeared on Channel 4 (Sing It Loud) and Later...with Jools Holland (BBC1) and is collaborating with Solem Quartet as part of their ‘Beethoven Bartok Now’ series. Ayanna opened London Jazz Festival 2021 at ‘Jazz Voice’ and is performing live on tour supporting Andrea Bocelli throughout November and December 2021.

“Wow! So happy to have signed with Faber Alt. It’s an exciting time in my career where my songwriting, commissions and collaborations are incredibly diverse, so I'm truly excited and honoured to join such an incredible team and I look forward to all the magic we'll make together."

Ayanna Witter-Johnson

“It was really important for Ayanna and I to collaborate with a publishing team that would understand the diversity of her musical style. Although Ayanna has a strong background in classical music, we needed a company that would allow her to continue to combine the unique and eclectic mix of reggae, soul and jazz that she is so well known for, and Faber Alt. are a great fit. I’m looking forward to a creative and productive working relationship with them.”

Paulette Long, Ayanna Witter-Johnson’s Manager

“There’s no doubt about it, Ayanna Witter-Johnson is an incredibly rare and rising talent who has that unique ability to fuse classical with more contemporary and alternative styles of music. We are extremely proud to represent an artist such as Ayanna, who dares to stretch the boundaries of classical music and open it up to whole new audiences.”

Lucy Holliday, Head of A&R

You can read more about Ayanna Witter-Johnson on her artist’s page.

You can listen to her full catalogue here.